The Basics
by Hinata-hime
Summary: [AU] She was perfectly happy in her perfect world, until it was torn up right in front of her by Uchiha Sasuke. Now both of them are on a mission...a mission where failure means death. There is no such thing as a second chance in this world. [SasuSaku]
1. The Basics

**A/N: **Me again, this time with a fic with a central plot. The idea was in my head for a long time, so I just needed to write this. This story contains lots of terms and references that has to do with computers and technology, though some things are made up (so no flaming me on that part, got it?) As well, the opening scene as well as the first two chapters take place in a high school setting, though, this IS NOT a high school fic of any kind. In fact, it's a mystery. I'm big into writing mysteries, though I haven't in awhile. The beginning will probably come off as rather confusing, but it'll get better in due time. Anyway, enjoy chapter 1.

* * *

**Chapter 1  
The Basics**

_The clock winds down  
__The bell rings too  
__For you the day is done  
__For me it's just begun  
__You hide no secrets  
__Hide no lies  
__I know you inside out  
__But what do you know of me?  
Think  
__Try  
__For students here are oblivious to me  
__So what am I?  
__Student?  
__I think not  
__Figure it out  
__I'll give you what you want_

The last bell of the day rang loudly through the building, sending hundreds of students filing into the hallways, in the busy rush to get home. Well, most anyway. If you were on the rugby team, you'd stay for practice, and that went for dance and tennis too. Those who had projects sat in the library, sticking their noses to a book or computer monitor. Or maybe those who wanted to smoke another joint before they headed home. It was a routine.

So if you were Haruno Sakura of class 12B, you'd also be staying after hours, for long periods of time. For Miss Sakura had a job, and she did her job very well. Because who would have guessed…

"Sakura!" a blonde piped up, running down the hall in attempt to collapse upon her best friend. The pink haired girl sidestepped out of the way and watch her almost crash into the brick wall. "That, was very mean." Yamanaka Ino, class 12B. Birthday, September 23. Age 17. Special trait: amazing sense of style.

"I know," the other smiled, shutting her old locker with a slam, "but I mean, I have to stay alive at least for another two hours while I'm here."

"Sheesh, you're always here so late. It's the same thing with Shikamaru. It's like he lives here."

"Really? He stays that long after school too? I'd never have guessed," bemused Sakura, who was already pro at telling lies. "Anyway, listen, I'm going to be late for the meeting if I don't hurry now, I'll see you tomorrow." Without so much as another word, she sped down the hall and entered the staircase, rushing up to the fourth floor.

When looking from the south side of the floor, it was easy to know where to go, once you got the right information, that is. Second door on the left, open the door, and it'll be a false one. The second one inside is the real one. Slipping out her student ID card from her wallet, the emerald-eyed teen slipped it in between the frame and the door.

It opened without any effort. "It was open, you know," the voice from inside spoke. There sat a dark haired teen, lazily sprawled on the couch. Nara Shikamaru, class 12D. Birthday, September 22. Age, 17. Special trait: IQ of over 200.

"It's fun that way though, pretending you're a spy, or whatever."

"Well, you can stop pretending, and actually do what you're good at: collecting."

_For I, am the information gatherer._

"Yeah, yeah, give me a break already," she sighed, placing her bag upon the small round table, and sat in front of the computer screen. She typed in a password and opened up a program. The program was unique to that computer, and that one alone. It was a database of sorts. Designed by the school's laziest genius. "I take it you've gathered something useful today," she commented, reading over what he'd imputed before her. "Interesting…"

"Yeah, well today I have to split early," her looked up with an annoyed set of dark brown eyes, "Mom says we have guests over tonight. I have to _entertain_ them."

His partner gave a chuckle. "I wish you luck then. Ten bucks says it's your cousins Jane, Milly, and Aaya. Plus, by the sound of it, count on your unnamed baby nephew to be there as well."

"I don't need to bet. You're probably right. You've been in this business way to damn long." With a rub of his head, he was out the double doors, muttering about how troublesome the evening would turn out.

It left Sakura alone, with the only noise being the sound of the keys being pushed at an alarmingly fast rate, her entering some data. It didn't take too long; she'd only gained something useful at about two people. Well, that was the normal rate anyway. It wasn't like she was getting 'paid' lately.

Payment, being an information gatherer, was more like an exchange. She'd give one the information needed, and asked for info worth the value in return. It was simple.

With all her new statistics safely saved upon her hard drive, her mouse scrolled down the various names in the database. There was dirt on everyone. She stopped near the bottom. Well, everyone except this fellow. He always seemed to never be around. He was popular, but no one had ever been close enough to get anything from out of him. That made it tough to get anything on him. Hell, even the school records had nothing: no names of parents, old schools. How he even was able to get enrolled was indeed a mystery.

Finally, a knock sounded through the door. Her fingers stopped the typing, wondering if they'd knock again. They didn't. Stage 1 clear. "Who is it?" she asked, now standing right up to the door so the person on the other side could clearly hear her.

"It is I," a male voice spoke up clearly. Stage 2 clear.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No." Stage 3 clear.

"Well then you can kindly take your leave."

There was a pause behind the door. "But I've passed your test."

Well, that certainly had been true. Only certain individuals knew the 'code' for entering the info room. It was her idea of a test, to see if they were worthy enough to receive information from her. Call it a password of sorts. Sakura opened the door, and glanced at the man outside. Her green eyes widened in realization as she instantly recognized who it was. It was Mr. Clean Slate.

"Uchiha Sasuke, class 12A," she said swiftly before he had time to open his mouth. "I'm surprised you were able to find this place without trouble. You must have gone through some digging yourself to get the password too. I have to say, I'm impressed."

"Well, you'd be even more shocked to hear how easy it actually was," his reply was cool and smooth. Looking him in the onyx eyes, she noted they were as monotone as his speech.

"Well, let's not stand here in the doorway forever," she spoke in a business-like manner, ushering him inside. He took a seat at the round table, eyes darting back and forth, almost like he was studying the place. "Now," she continued, sitting opposite him and folding her hands, "you must want something really deep, if you couldn't get this on your own, am I correct?" She received a curt nod. "Before I give out anything, let's go over my rules. The information gatherer shall never question what you ask for, while the customer shall never question the payment required. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," he said, leaning forward.

"Good, now, what is it that you need, Mr. Uchiha Sasuke?"

"I'm looking for…" he paused, "you know the girl, Moutosu Asagi?"

"Class 11E, yes."

"Well, I need the name of the man who killed her father." His expression still remained unreadable, hers as well. To say she wasn't the least bit curious was a lie, since it was indeed a strange request. However, her having access to multiple sources, courtesy of Shikamaru, made this task relatively easy. "You can do that for me, right Haruno Sakura of class 12B." Che. He was using her way of identifying already.

"Of course I can," she replied slightly offended at his questioning. She hadn't gotten this title for nothing. She was the best of the best. "Now, what I want in return…the names of both your mother and father, plus the serial number of your laptop. Now, you can do that for me, right?"

His face seemed to form a slight frown, him most likely mentally questioning such an odd request. "Fine."

"Good, then we have a deal. I can have it for you this time tomorrow."

"Right, tomorrow. Thank you." They both got up and shook hands, each silently swearing to secrecy. However, secrecy only lasts a certain time, in the information world. For anyone who didn't know Sakura, she was a very, very curious woman. However, sometimes, curiosity kills the cat. That's the lesson she'd learn in the near future.

* * *

Sure enough, after he'd left yesterday, she'd gone through her database to look for the murderer of Asagi's father. She was surprised to find that that information hadn't been entered in her database, so managed to log on to the local police files. After some quick searching, she came up with a name.

So it being the next day, a Thursday, she waited patiently for his return. She was rather anxious, seeing that now she'd have something to work with about the empty data spot under Uchiha Sasuke's name. Her partner was no where to be found, she assumed he must have been at home again.

There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It is I."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"Then you can kindly take your leave."

"But I've passed your test."

Knowing perfectly well who it was even after she'd heard the knocking, Sakura walked over and opened the door, letting the raven-haired male inside. "Your password is way to long," he told her flatly, walking past her and taking a seat.

"It's necessary, though." She also sat down, hiding her eagerness behind a façade of indifference. "So, I trust you managed to get me what I asked for no problem?"

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slip of lined paper, and passed it the length of the table. She caught it without trouble. She gazed at the few things scribbled upon it, and was left satisfied. "Okay, now, the man who killed Asagi's father is named Naoki Gato. His street name was 'the fish'. He pleaded innocent, but was charged guilty. However, he did not receive the death penalty, and after a year in prison, was bailed out for two million."

The Uchiha sat there motionless, pondering the name. "I see," he said, rising to his feet, "thank you. You've been a great help, Sakura. It was great doing business with you."

"Yes…" she said to his back and watched him leave. "Weird…" she muttered, but then smiled happily at the paper in front of her. She made a beeline to the computer, and furiously typed away. His father: Uchiha Fugaku, his mother: Uchiha Mikoto. Well, it was a start. Just for reference, she added the serial number of his laptop, that might be needed in the future: 49900S27T481.

First off, as always, she re-checked the police records. There was no mention of either mother or father, or any Uchiha for that matter. A basic search upon the Internet turned out blank as well. She frowned; it was very odd, not being able to find anything about working people over the net.

Well, that's why the serial number came in handy. Firstly, she entered it into another search engine (created once again by the genius Shikamaru). "Hmm…" Sakura began to talk to herself, as she looked upon the computer he owned, "a Toshiba Satellite Notebook…Intel Centrino processor…custom made, but part of the M55-S325 models…relatively new…"

She closed that program and opened another. At first, her emerald eyes scanned the instruction page, and she contemplated doing it or not. She never had needed it before now, but she was just that desperate to know about Uchiha Sasuke. Swallowing the lump in her throat, her fingers began to type away. Most people called what she was about to do: hacking.

Most of her computer consisted of custom-made programs designed for her convenience in getting information. That was her hobby. She wanted to know everything about everyone, and he was no exception. It almost didn't seem fair to her that everyone else had so _kindly_ given her what she needed, but here she had to go hack for it.

"Password…but of course," she smiled at the computer screen, which really belonged to Uchiha Sasuke. "I'm counting on this script you came up with, Shika." After pressing the enter button, she watched the number code change into what was indeed his real password: q1ue89s55t. She rolled her eyes; it was indeed impossible to figure that one out.

Checking the time, she knew that her time was vital, since he'd be home soon. Wouldn't that appear strange to see the cursor moving by itself, and documents opening and closing. But she was highly disappointed in what she found. For a laptop of enormous capacity, he had nothing on it. There was the standard word processor, graphics program, the like, but she found nothing that he'd created. There were no documents. There were no addresses of phone numbers. Point be, it was like a completely new computer.

Sakura was unsatisfied in what she'd accomplished. She'd just met with the ever-so-secretive Sasuke, yet the info that she'd asked for turned up useless. There was no was this chance was ever coming again. But there must have been something she was overlooking.

Sakura picked up her pink cell phone and dialed her partner's number. "Hi, Shika, it's me. I need some help."

"Oi, oi, now?" he asked in a strained sort of voice. There was some sort of banging in the background, plus a baby crying, and a few people screaming.

"Are you in a war zone, or something?"

"Pretty well close to that," he sighed, "it's always like this when such troublesome people come over." He waited until she was done chuckling, "So anyway, let's hear it."

"Well, like I told you earlier, I got some info out of Uchiha, and here I am, hacking away at his computer, but I can't find anything. It's like he never used it before in his life."

"Did you check the Internet history?"

She opened up the multiple browsers he had on the desktop, clicking on the history icon on each. She frowned again. "It's clean."

"The cookies then?"

In an instant she'd searched all the places where these cookies would normally be placed. "Also cleaned. Son of a…" She smirked. This was proven interesting. Perhaps he anticipated something like this. But since he had taken such great caution in avoiding any sort of data leaking out, it meant he had something to hide. She vowed to find that out, what ever it was.

On the other end of the line, he pondered the matter some more. "Okay, how about the Inbox?"

That certainly was true, she hadn't checked his mail yet. She felt like this was the equivalent of marching right into his house and rummaging through his room. Still, her curiosity was greater then her voice of reason. "Password…" she quickly typed in the decoder. "Okay…nothing in the actual Inbox, nor the sent items or deleted items folder. Wait…there **is** a newsgroup, though. It's a weird name…Sh-a-r-in-gan?" she tried to pronounce it. "What do you think that is?"

"Don't know for sure…" re replied truthfully, "read a post."

Her jade orbs quickly scanned a few threads. "This is really weird. I have no idea what they are talking about. A company, maybe?"

"It's worth a shot. Try the web again, using that word as the root. You may find something. Oh…damn it all. Mom's calling, I think I have to go get tormented by my six year-old cousin now."

"Okay," she smiled, "I wish you luck." The phone went dead after that. She entered many different things into the address bar for the next few minutes. Finally, something came up, after she managed to figure out was indeed a weird page. The only thing there was Employee ID and a password field. She cursed, not knowing how to figure out some way to enter an employee ID. Was it numbers? Letters? Both? With time running out, knowing that he'd most likely be home shortly, she typed in the most obvious thing on Earth: Uchiha Sasuke, password q1ue89s55t.

However, she was deeply surprised (for about the fourth time that day, which indeed was a record) when the next page read 'Proceed to main page'. Now sitting closer to the screen, she went straight to the employee inbox.

The whole time now, Sakura began to wonder. What was Sasuke doing, working for an unknown company? Searching the words 'Sharingan Inc." on any search engine turned up blank. Much to her satisfaction, there was an email left in the box.

But things were never made easy for an information gatherer, as she stared at the message. It was finned with numbers. "A code…" her voice sounded like a whine, completely fed up with the uselessness of the whole thing. She printed the page, and decided she'd give it for Shikamaru to figure it out tomorrow. She cleared the history tab, as well as the cookie files, and logged off his setting.

"You certainly are a mystery, Sasuke," she said, massaging her temples. "You're a mystery I'm going to solve. A code I'm going to crack. Watch out, the best information seeker is on your tail." But it irked her to no end that she couldn't read the message that now lay on a sheet of paper in front of her, heading reading: IMPORTANT.

**TBC**

**Additional AN: **So that was chapter one. That was a little chunk of what their personalities are like. I'm going to try and keep them in character as much as this story allows. Another thing. I'm not going to use any Japanese honorifics, just because this story doesn't take place in that kind of area. If you'd so kindly review, I totally need feedback, plus how you guys liked the start.


	2. Secret Better Left Untold

**A/N:** I'm so glad people liked it! It really is easier to write then my other story (sorry guys who were reading both). Chapter 2, the plot unfolds. Yay! Um, yes, another thing. Don't mind the crappy poems (I forgot to mention that last time, eheh. And is that even considered a poem?) Well, anyhow…

* * *

**Chapter 2  
Secret Better Left Untold**

_As the week comes to end  
__We all run off to do what students do  
__Not me  
__Not ever  
__The one who's fate has been sealed away  
__Since the day you were born  
__Yet no one knows  
__No one cares  
__I hide a secret  
__One that's too big to share  
__So my job  
__Can you guess?  
__No?_

It was Friday, which most people were glad for. However, some others, like Sakura for instance, had been too preoccupied in looking for other things, then to notice that it was the end of the week. Amongst the books she carried in her hands, a sheet of paper lay on top of them. Her head was down, brows knitting up and down, as she couldn't comprehend the page.

If she hadn't felt the hand on her shoulder, she never would have guessed that Ino had been repeatedly calling her name. "Hey, Earth to Sakura. You're going to crash into something at this rate. What are you so interested in anyway?"

"Hey, give it back!" the pink haired girl whined, as her coded message was whisked from in front of her. "I'm trying to crack this code. _By myself_," she couldn't help adding.

"Well you can have all the fun you want with that," the blonde said after about studying it for five seconds. "It's just a bunch of 0s and 1s to me. By the way, can you ask Shika if he'll walk me home today?"

Relived that the topic had been changed, she decided to take charge. "Ah, right. So still crushing on him, I see."

Ino looked at her with widened eyes for a moment before recovering. "Don't be silly, I never was. He's just a friend that's all. Don't read so much into these things," while she was speaking, observer girl noticed a fait color rise to her cheeks.

But she simply smiled, not pushing it any further. "Okay, I'll see you later in class then." Without another word, she hurried down the hall to math class, where she found who she was looking for, his head on his desk. "Shikamaru…" she prodded him with a pencil. He looked up sleepily. "Rough night, huh?" There was nod and a yawn in reply. "Anyway, I need you to solve this. I never was able to last night. Can you do it by this afternoon, thanks!" She handed him the message and went to her seat at the back of the class.

The teacher then walked in, asking everyone to take out the homework. He quickly pulled it out, but his brown eyes never left the page. "Binary and hexadecimal…huh?" he said aloud, frowning at how every single 0 and 1 as well at the 2 and 16 subscripts were squished together, forming multiple possibilities on how to read it. "Okay…that could be the letter T…the letter E…or possibly…"

* * *

On the way to her last period, she still had no word from Shikamaru, who she'd seen at lunch, still hunched over the paper, scribbling furiously. She felt kind of bad, dumping it on him like that, but he seemed occupied, which almost never happened.

Speaking of which, she mentally slapped herself, she'd forgotten to relay Ino's message. Convincing herself that the Phys. Ed. teacher never really cared if they were late or not, she ran off to see if he was still at his locker for his spare class.

On her rush down from the second floor, she picked up a piece of paper, that looked like had been dropped from a notebook. It had a bunch of messages on it, like it was passed back and forth in class. Her eyes scanned over it. The main message was: That Bastard! I can't believe he broke up with you!

Her eyebrows raised, and set the page back down on the floor. Well, last year's "Most likely to get married" couple had just broken up. One more thing to add to the database later. She then remembered that she had class to get to, and a mission to take care of.

Sakura tried to move as fast as possible, without making so much noise that a teacher would yell at her that running in the hall wasn't allowed. However, she was too busy looking in front of her, and didn't notice someone was walking in her direction from the side.

Only gravity made up the fate of those two. "Oww, shoot," she said, rubbing her side, and looked at who had run into her.

"Sorry," no other then Uchiha Sasuke apologized, rubbing his head of raven hair.

"No, it's my bad. I wasn't watching where I was going," she said with a smile of sorts. "Oh, I can pick up my stuff fine, thank you." She went and picked up her belongings. He was also doing the same, aiding her pick up some fallen papers from one of her binders. He frowned, even though it was barely noticeable, as he put the papers back. It was like he was looking for something. "Err, thanks…"

They both got up from the floor. "No problem," he replied, shrugging off the matter. She mumbled something incoherent, and was back on her way.

_I'm a spy_

"Damn," he said through his teeth, kicking a paper ball through the hallway. He hadn't managed to find what he'd originally been looking for. She was tricky. She was pro. With a slight huff, he also slowly made his way to class.

* * *

By the time the final bell had run, almost every single student in the building had their sights on the exit doors. There was a mess of people (whom Sakura skillfully dodged) all headed in one direction, she in the other. The only real thing that had kept her going through the whole day was the fact (or the hope) that Shikamaru would have the message decoded by now.

Inside the info room, she drummed her finger impatiently on the table. Her head popped up when the door opened. "So?" she asked excitedly.

"Hold it, keep your socks on," he said sitting opposite her, and unfolding the paper that now was covered by mostly pencil lead. "Okay, since all the numbers were jumbled together, it was hard to tell what was what. So after a few trial and error sessions, I managed to make out a few things. The first few letters were too hard to read, but after it says something about good information. The next line was: meet at…what looks like 16 and 4 then the word alley. Then the very last bit says 7 o'clock."

"Hmm…so, he must have used some kind of decoder, or he already knew what the message was…" she though out loud, "16 and 4…an intersection maybe? 16th Ave and 4th street is a relatively close intersection, unless it's 16th street and 4th avenue, if that exists." She smiled.

Her brunet partner tilted his head and sighed. "You always have a knack for trouble, don't you?"

"Relax, I'm just going to check it out for like, a second. Nothing wrong with that. Besides, it's on my way home."

He scratched his head. "Okay, just…be careful."

"Thanks for your concern, but I'll be fine. It's not like I'm going in spying for the FBI or something. It's not dangerous work." It followed by a wink, as she grabbed her school bag and left the room. The only ambition on her mind now was getting the tiny secret that Uchiha Sasuke's vague email failed to tell her.

* * *

For a rather long time, the petal haired girl had leisurely strolled down to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, where she found Ino straightening out the bucket of cream colored roses. They sat down and chatted for awhile, mostly about how the business was going, what was for dinner, and so forth.

She'd glanced at her watch a few times, but decided she had enough time to help her blonde friend arrange some bouquets. Her skill had surpassed the taste of when she was a child. She was constantly scolded by Ino about matching colors, or what flowers went with what. Now her knack for remembering such insignificant things was a talent.

At a quarter to, she parted ways with her friend and resumed her walk down the illuminated streets. The sun had set, but it wasn't completely dark yet. There were still lots of people that bustled their way through the streets in attempt to get home quickly. The end of the week was always like this.

The lamp flickered dimly on top of the crossed signs of 16 and 4. Her emerald eyes scanned the area quickly, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Walking casually along, she passed the alleyway that was the only one on this side of the street. It was right between two small restaurants, the noise pouring out of the windows. She did a quick sidestep and was engulfed in the darkness.

The noise from the busy streets concealed her footsteps, as she moved further within. Sakura was very keen when it came with directions, with a type of photographic memory. The alley closed off at the back of a flat, but made a sharp right, behind the cramped few buildings. It took a left, then another left. The sounds from the streets were still quite loud, but it seemed eerily quiet within the confinements of the stuffy alley.

It was becoming hard to see, and just before she could turn the final left, a tiny glimmer in the near distance caused her to halt. She pussyfooted over to the wall, and peered around the corner. When nothing happened, she wrote it off as her imagination, until there was a noise from beside her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, seeing the outline of what looked like a strongly built man, most likely in his late thirties. Sakura just stayed pressed against the wall, praying that no one noticed her still presence. Thankfully the mysterious man hadn't been too aware of his surroundings, keeping a sharp eye in front of him.

Following his gaze, she noted the shady and hardly definable outlines of two others. "So that's him, huh?" the man beside her spoke, then moved down further towards the end of the alley. The moon had appeared from behind the clouds, shedding a bit of light on the inside.

"You'd think they'd already killed him for committing murder," another male voice commented bitterly.

"You guys think you're all high and mighty…well you're wrong! I won't say anything. I've sworn to secrecy," a frantic and panic-stricken voice replied, moving into the portion of moonlight. He was a rather old man, in his fifties. He wore a dusty suit, and there was a frame missing from the sunglasses atop his head.

"We'll see about that," the first man spoke, partially stepping into the light. Only his face wasn't visible. From his leather jacket, he pulled out a tiny handgun. From her spot at the corner, she could only bite her tongue, to resist the urge to gasp out loud.

"Heh, you don't scare me the least, bastards," the threatened old man, and wasn't even fazed when the second man pulled out an identical weapon. "Have to do better then that."

"Listen here. We're warning you. Your leader **will** be hunted down sooner or later. It's only a matter of time. Cooperate and we'll set you free, if not…" he loaded the barrel.

Sakura could hardly believe she was watching this. This type of thing only happened in cliché TV dramas and the like. Stuff like this didn't happen in the real world. They just didn't. All sorts of things raced through her mind, as she desperately tried to think of a way this could all be explained. Maybe she'd gotten knocked out cold somewhere along the way home and this was all some sort of surreal nightmare.

Wait. What about the email? This was Sasuke's email, was it not? Why would a high school student be involved with some sort of murderer? What was Sharingan? Why the hell hadn't she listened to Shikamaru for once in her bloody life and stayed out of the world where this type of thing didn't happen?

Her thoughts reeled back to the recent information she'd given to her client. _"The man who killed Asagi's father is a man named Naoki Gato." _Now that she remembered that…he did sort of look like the mug shots from the police report, just older, and more beat up. This was 'the Fish'.

Another thing that had just recently dawned on her while the men were busy conversing, making some sort of agreement with each other, was what was Sasuke doing? After all, it was in his inbox. Maybe, perchance, that the email had been sent mistakenly to him. No, there was no way. He'd asked for specific info on Gato, meaning that he indeed passed that along. Was he the third figure, (she'd recently noticed the presence of someone in the corner) still completely cloaked in the shadows?

'I just wanted to know what it was all about. I didn't want specific details,' she screamed mentally.

"This is your last chance!" roared one of the men, and pulled the trigger on his weapon. This time a gasp did slip her pressed lips, then she immediately clamped both hands to her mouth, preventing it from happening again. The gun had been a rather quiet shot. She could only think of one thing that must have been used: a silencer.

The senile man had let out a small yelp of pain, fury written all over his face. Blood trickled out from his forearm, and spilled onto the concrete. The gun wound looked small, and it wasn't anywhere near fatal for a long while.

Now she was sure that it was some sort of horrible nightmare. Stuff like this didn't happen in her city. Things like this definitely **didn't** happen in front of her innocent jade eyes. The smell of the sticky liquid was quickly filling the air, and it didn't mix well with the mugginess of the area. It became nauseating very rapidly.

"Now," the second man fully stepped into the light. Sakura was actually surprised at how young he was. He didn't look that much older then she did, maybe a year or two. He had long brown hair, and wore dark shorts and a beige top. She hadn't gotten a good look at his face, but she could guess that it was very pale, and he looked quite strong, despite his skinny figure. "Mind telling us, if you want to live?"

Gato looked up, broken sunglasses falling crookedly off his disheveled gray hair. He spat at the brunet's feet. "The Akatsuki has spoken. You'll all join me in hell one day," without warning, he reached inside his trench coat with his good arm and pulled out a tiny, yet sharp-looking knife. Like a self-defense mechanism, the man who was fully in the light jumped back, firearm ready.

However, the knife was meant for no one other then the user. In one clean motion, a deep gash appeared at the throat, the blood spilling everywhere, a pool gathering at his feet. The whole body went limp. "Damn it!" the first man said, knowing it was already too late to attempt and save him.

Sakura pushed down a wave of nausea. That was enough. She decided against knowing what Uchiha Sasuke's secret was. She involuntarily stepped backwards, knocking over a garbage can. It clattered to the pavement. 'Oh…crap…' she thought, knowing everyone around the corner must have heard the noise. This, was really, really, **really** bad.

"What was that?" one of them asked. Without thinking and instinct taking over, she did an immediate 180 and ran as fast as she could.

"Shit!" the third voice finally spoke, but the pink haired girl was too busy making herself scarce then to wonder if it indeed was her classmate. She avoided about three more garbage cans, a few empty crates, and nearly missed a flight of stairs in her haste. She could see the illuminated street in front of her, and thanked whoever was up there.

She gripped her shoulder-bag tightly, hurrying out of the alley, and ran in a sort of zigzag pattern, avoiding as many people as possible and still just keep on going. She bumped into an older woman clutching a black briefcase, and shouted back a "Sorry!" and continued on her way.

After she was a good three blocks away, and could no longer keep up the pace, she slowed to a walk. That had been **way** too scary for her. She never imagined that something so innocent as digging into a tiny little secret would end up in a scenario she'd never even dreamed of. She walked down the still busy streets, since it was only 7:30. Her heart was still racing, and her face was still missing its color.

Hopefully for her, in a few hours, she'd wake up in bed, seeing that it all was a dream. A very realistic dream, but it could happen. A short while later, Sakura turned down a less busy street, entering a residential quarter. What would the excuse be tonight for coming home late? "Sorry I was busy spying on this weird group and this guy who they were questioning committed suicide?" Somehow, she didn't think her parents would be too thrilled with that answer, and most likely ban her from going to school ever again.

Turning to the right down her street, a car passed from behind her, and disappeared onto another street. She sighed, pushing the pink locks out from her face that had fallen out of her tie while she was running. Maybe she should give Shikamaru a call, tell him what she'd seen. Would he believe her? Her eyes wandered to the night sky, and the twinkling stars above.

Of course he'd believe her. She would never joke about something like this; he knew that perfectly well. Somehow, though, she didn't have any energy for that now. Maybe she'd skip dinner and go straight to sleep, that is, if she could. She was walking slowly down her street now, pondering.

In the middle of her thoughts, she heard a noise behind her. Sakura stopped, her green eyes glued on the sky, before shakily turning behind her…only to find no one there. Great, she cringed, she was becoming paranoid.

"Hey," a masculine voice spoke, making her jump two feet back. Staring back in front of her, there stood Uchiha Sasuke, looking taller then normal. Possibly because the shock had also sent her falling to the ground.

"Oh…" she breathed out, "sorry, you scared me. At night I'm especially paranoid, you know."

"Yeah, I guess so. Someone the likes of you should really be home earlier. Just not to get into any sort of trouble." He helped her up.

She didn't answer for a moment, evaluating what he'd said. When he meant 'Stay out of trouble', was he referring to certain crazy people that came out, or was he… "Thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself. Anyway, what are you doing here? I've never seen you around this place before." This was her way of finding out if he was that third person.

"I was in the area," he replied simply and without hesitation, "visiting an acquaintance."

"An acquaintance…right," she repeated, and gave him a charming smile, "anyway, I'll see you around. I'm already late for dinner."

She reached for her bag and began to walk past him. Then she felt a firm grip tighten upon her right arm. "Think you're pretty smart, do you?"

"Excuse me?" she questioned, trying to play innocent.

He gave her a sort of stare, a deadly one. "I was kind of careless leaving that message on my computer. But I have to say, you were pretty good at figuring it out." Sakura subconsciously bit her bottom lip. She was in big, **big** pickle now. "Want to tell me how you did it?"

Well, there was only one thing left to do. "What are you talking about?"

His well-defined face was partially in the shadows, his dark eyes scanning her face. "A great snoop and a great information gatherer you may be," he complimented, "but you aren't very good at lying, nor at spying, as you displayed today."

The words then came spilling out before she had a chance to bite her tongue again. "I'm sorry. Really I am. I was being so stupid, I thought…well…"

His eyes narrowed. "Well at least you're honest…sort of. Anyway, I can't let you off the hook that easily."

There was a pit at the bottom of Sakura's stomach, and her heart was thumping loudly again. "Uh…" she said dumbly.

"You're coming with me," and with that note, he pulled her down the perpendicular street, where a car stood waiting, engine purring quietly.

"What? Back up for a sec," she protested, not digesting his words, "you can't just take me off the street, expect me to follow you just like that! That's called kidnapping you know. What will my parents say?"

"That's already taken care of," he said simply, opening the passenger side of the black car, "now, get inside."

"Wait…where the hell am I going?"

Sasuke sighed impatiently, "Look, just get in and I'll explain on the way."

"There is no way in hell I'm getting in that thing!"

The next part made her heart stop it's racing for a moment. From inside his jacket, he'd pulled a handgun. His expression was cold as stone. "I don't really want to shoot anyone tonight. But you've seen a bit too much. I can't have my biggest secret blown to the world, now can I? So, come with me."

Shaking, she finally agreed to his demand, sinking into the leather seats, and scooting over so he could sit down as well. The car rolled past her house, past her street, and back into the roads of the city. "So…where are you taking me?" she asked quietly.

He was looking out the window with a bored expression, "The train station." Noticing how she was silent, he spoke up again. "Look, it's not my idea to bring you along with me into my business. But…" his hands clenched into fists, "we…I…need your help."

Her eyes met his sharply. "What?"

"I trust, since you've found the web site, you know about Sharingan." She nodded in response. "Well, the president and his wife…a month ago they began to receive threats. Death threats. So a couple subordinates, and myself, we're in charge of finding out who's behind it."

She looked at him curiously. Somehow, this was all too much for one night. "The president…your father and mother, right?"

He smirked at the window, "You live up to your reputation of snoop, I'll say it again."

She also gave a small grin out her respected window, "I knew you weren't a high school student since you transferred here a month ago. Why all the trouble? To get me? Am I that famous?" She didn't get an answer back. "Tell me then, Uchiha Sasuke, what are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he glanced sideways, then back out the window. The train station was in view. "A spy."

* * *

**TBC**

**Additional AN: **Ah, Sasuke. He doesn't like to ask for help very often, as you can see. The story is still kind of unclear, though it's still unfolding. One other thing. If you want to check review responses, check out my lj (link from my bio). I don't really want to use the review response thing, if it's for thanking all you guys for reading, or whatnot. Hmm. I thought up chapter 3. How about a little preview?

**_Chapter 3 – Partners?_**  
_The doors finally opened again. "Quick," he said, giving her a push out of the elevator and on to a dark platform. It looked like a regular subway platform, except empty. The two sets of footsteps echoed against the walls, making it sound even more eerie. "This is Sharingan's private platform. One way to headquarters," he said, pointing to a tiny subway car that was stationed._

"_One way…wait! But that means…" she received another forceful push into the open car, and practically fell into a rather uncomfortable seat. Sasuke did the same on the opposite side. The doors closed and the train immediately started moving. "I'm not…coming back for awhile…am I?"_

"_No, you aren't," he said flatly, and looked over at the distressed face the girl was giving him. "Don't look at me. You're the one who put her nose where it didn't belong. Learn the consequences of your actions."_


	3. Partners?

**A/N:** So my chapters get longer. A BIG thanks to all you reviewers! They all made my day! Okay, so this chapter in comes some more characters. Think of this as a prologue 'til the good stuff next chapter. Once again, review responses through my LJ, if you're interested.

* * *

**Chapter 3  
Partners?**

Some things just happen way to fast in the world today. This night, for instance, was one of those times. Sakura hadn't questioned on the 'I-am-a-spy' statement, even thought her face must have clearly given that away. The car pulled to a stop in front of the circular drop-off station.

Sasuke opened the door. "Get out," he demanded, looking around at the nearly empty area. "Quickly, we don't have all day."

Hastily, she slid out next to him, and he shut the door, motioning her to follow him. "But…what about my books?"

"What about them?"

"Well I have a major essay due Monday! I need to finish it."

His face was as unreadable as ever. "You won't be going to school Monday."

"What?" she looked almost horrified. Not being able to stand her jabbering any longer, he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. "Hey! Let me go!" she wretched free from his grasp, "I can walk on my own thank you very much!"

"Okay…I'll trust you. Don't run away, you hear?" Sasuke stated clearly, and walked down the flight of stairs. Sakura looked back to where the car should have been parked, but it was gone. She was rather stupid, for thinking she was going anywhere for the next little while. She ran down in attempt to keep up with him. The subway station was emptier then usual, people still carrying briefcases from work, some teens going to where ever, some shady looking characters, the usual. He slowed his pace, his head darting from side to side at times. "This way," he spoke, pulling her into a small corridor just before the ticket machines. It was labeled 'Employees Only' in big red letters.

He stopped in front of the service elevator, pushing the down button. "Cold?" he asked in the same monotone voice, finally noticing she was getting goosebumps.

"Sort of…it's always cold underground," she said, hoping he'd offer a jacket or something close to it.

He didn't. "Well…" his sentence didn't finish, as the old-looking elevator opened. His onyx orbs darted to the clock on the wall. "Damn. We're already late. Let's go."

She walked inside, wrinkling her nose at the musty old smell. He pushed the last button on the keypad, and the double doors closed. The button was the only one that didn't have a label next to it. She'd always assumed those went no where, and they just had an odd number of floors, so this was new. "Where are we going?" she asked for the second time that night.

"Where do you think?" he asked in return, waiting for the lift to stop moving.

"Well if I knew I wouldn't have asked the question, now would I?"

The doors finally opened again. "Quick," he said, giving her a push out of the elevator and on to a dark platform. It looked like a regular subway platform, except empty. The two sets of footsteps echoed against the walls, making it sound even more eerie. "This is Sharingan's private platform. One way to headquarters," he said, pointing to a tiny subway car that was stationed.

"One way…wait! But that means…" she received another forceful push into the open car, and practically fell into a rather uncomfortable seat. Sasuke did the same on the opposite side. The doors closed and the train immediately started moving. "I'm not…coming back for awhile…am I?"

"No, you aren't," he said flatly, and looked over at the distressed face the girl was giving him. "Don't look at me. You're the one who put her nose where it didn't belong. Learn the consequences of your actions."

Well, he had been right on that count. The car moved to an above ground level. The watched the lights of her hometown speed by out the window. How she desperately wanted to be home now. Eating dinner with her family never seemed like much of a big deal, until she now realized that that privilege might not come for a long time now. "What do you want with me?"

Sasuke, who was also looking out his respected window, didn't bother turning. "I thought I told you earlier."

"But how am I going to do that?"

"You're the genius, figure it out."

It was at times like these where she desperately wanted to cry out in frustration. The lights outside were becoming numbered, slowly disappearing by the second. There were still so many questions she had floating around in her brain. She just wanted to shout out every single one of them. But she wouldn't risk Sasuke getting angry, judging by his lack of patience with her. And he still had that gun. That was the scary part.

Like a sudden wave, she could feel streams of warm liquid falling from her eyes. She cried silently, not exactly knowing why. It was most likely frustration. "What now?" he seemed irritated at her emotional state.

"Sorry," she said, drying her face with her sleeve, "it's just all happening too fast. I mean, couldn't I have helped you from school? If you'd have told me the situation I surely would have aided you."

"No…" his tone was serious, "this requires a full time commitment."

"And my studies? So that's it? I'm just failing high school? Never going to university to gain a future for myself?"

"We'll take care of that."

He seemed to have an answer for everything, despite how little it told her. The train had been back underground for quite come time now, and the squeaking of metal against metal was slowly driving her insane. Taking a deep breath of stuffy air, she folded her hands and rested them on her lap.

"So, tell me, Uchiha Sasuke, if you will. What **is** Sharingan anyway?"

"It's a relatively unknown company. Not like the black-market, since it isn't illegal, but close. Its main function is…creating weaponry." He noted her swallowing nervously. "But, like myself, there are other strands. Now they're simply being devoted to catching this terrorist group, as they call them."

"So…I'm going to…"

"Be replacing me as head of information," he finished for her, feeling the train starting to slow down.

"And then…what will you be doing?"

He shrugged, not wincing like she was at the screeching metal, as the car began to break. "We're here," he stated the obvious, standing up, she doing the same. She looked positively drained. Nevertheless, she followed him outside the train and onto another darkened platform. Something told her she would have to be getting used to the dark. No wonder he was so pale.

They climbed up the flight of stairs, and fresh air could once more be smelt. Outside, the sky was clear, and there were many twinkling stars above. That was her first clue that they were really, really far away from her city home. Around them was an area of several trees, but mostly empty land. They were standing on a paved road, which stretched as far as she could see in the dark. "This way," he tapped her shoulder and pointed. There stood a large building. It was at least 10 storeys on one side, and the other was wide, and only three storeys.

The door opened automatically as Sasuke slid a card through the outside reader. She could hear their footsteps inside again, them walking slowly against the marble floor. "It's usually a lot busier then this. But it's Friday night, so everyone has off early," he explained, leading her towards the left-hand side elevators.

This, like the other three elevators going the same way, had gold painted doors, and the inside floors were also marble. There were mirrors on three walls and a little security camera was set up in the corner. "Uh, Sasuke…"

He jabbed the number 9 and the double doors closed. He continued without hearing her. "Listen carefully, Sakura. You'll have weekends off, unless emergencies occur. Tomorrow you should familiarize yourself with the premises, which includes the residential quarters as well as the factory."

"Uh…Sasuke…"

"The ninth floor is reserved for personnel serving with the investigation. Your room will be across from mine, and I'll have a key, as you'll have one to mine. In certain cases it's easier that way. You'll be expected to fill out reports after every mission, as well as any other initial progress in the case."

She gave up with her question. She'd ask him later when he wasn't so absorbed in ordering her around. The elevator lurched, signaling that they'd arrived at their designated floor. She expected it to be a dead man's tomb like downstairs had been, but this floor was different. There was no cold marble floor, but carpeted a dull red. There were couches and lounge chairs around a rather large LCD television. There were small tables with Internet cables to do work out in the open, or to just grab a coffee from the machine against the wall.

There were three people about in the common area. A girl with light colored eyes looked up at the doors opening, but only saw her superior, and continued typing away on her laptop. One hadn't even noticed, as he grabbed a coffee and went down the hall. Lastly, a blond boy who was looking over the shoulder of the other female looked up and broke out into a goofy grin.

"Hey, Sasuke. You haven't been back here in awhile," he said leaving the other's side. His sharp blue eyes landed on Sakura, who'd remained extremely quiet that evening, minus her failed question attempt. "Oh! Who's this pretty lady?"

The girl on her computer looked up finally, blinking in realization that there indeed was someone else there. The pink haired girl opened her mouth to speak, but Sasuke beat her to it. "This is my mission," he answered, as if she was a thing, "Haruno Sakura. She's going to be the new head of inquiry."

"Oh! So **you're** that girl!" his eyes seemed to widen. "You must be something special, if Sasuke's letting you replace him. I've also heard highly of your abilities. You must have completely won him over," he grinned, slapping his friend on the back. The other simply glared in return.

"Really…" Sakura replied lamely, "well, I can't be **that** great. I'm just a student, after all."

"Nonsense. Even a student can know more then a trained professional. And by the way, I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." They shook hands briefly. "And this here is Hyuuga Hinata," he said running back to where the blue haired female had abandoned her typing. "And that…" he pointed to a man that walked briskly to the other side of the dorm and disappeared again, "was Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's cousin. But he's in a bad mood now, so I wouldn't talk to him right away."

From the split second that she'd seen his face, it hit her that they'd met. Well, in a way. He'd been one of the men at the confrontation with Gato. She'd recognize the long dark hair and impassive expression anywhere. She was always good with faces. "Pleased to meet you…" she said humbly to Hinata, who gave a weak smile in return.

"Now that everyone's aquatinted…" Sasuke interrupted, wanting to go about his business, "Hinata, if you don't mind, will you show Miss Haruno to her room."

Whenever Uchiha Sasuke asked a favor question, it was always rhetorical. "Certainly," she replied with a bow. "Enjoy your weekend."

The raven-haired teen nodded, and turned towards the left hallway. Sakura felt slightly taken aback. He'd dragged her all the way from her home to his family company asking for help, yet didn't even stick around to show her the ropes. 'What a…' she began to think, shifting feet uncomfortably.

"Sasuke was never good at interacting socially," Naruto explained, seeing her face, "however much he said to you tonight might have been what he usually speaks in a month's time span."

"Ah…" she nodded.

"Well, let's get to know you a bit better, Sakura," the blond exclaimed brightly, dragging her to the big leather sofa. "Hinata, you too." So the seating arrangement was Naruto and Sakura on the couch, Hinata sitting in the armchair next to it. "You're in your last grade of high school, right?" She nodded. "What were you planning to study when you got to university?"

"Oh…I don't really know. Medicine probably."

"Really? I remember when Hinata wanted to become a doctor a year ago when she came here," Naruto reflected.

"Why didn't you pursue it then?" she directed the question at the other silent female.

Her violet glazed orbs shifted around for a second. "Because I came to work here. I came because…" she stopped before continuing, "because I came to be with my cousin."

"I see…" Sakura replied, even though she knew there was more to it then that. She wasn't hand picked by Uchiha Sasuke for nothing. "Anyway, what is it here that you do?"

"Well, Hinata here is in charge of security. Security of any data that has to do with our unit. She'd a genius at it really," all the way through Naruto's compliments, the female Hyuuga's face was glowing redder. "She deals with cameras, and firewalls, and stuff that I don't really understand." Maybe now perhaps wasn't the best time to say that she'd hacked Sasuke's laptop with the aid of her best friend who was also a computer genius. "And me, well I do what ever task needs being completed. I'm like the air; I'm constantly doing something different."

"Wow…" Sakura's answers were starting to annoy herself. "Sorry that I'm not very talkative, you know? It's been a rough day. Everything sort of happened at once."

"Right…" he nodded, "I heard about that from Neji. Well let me tell you that it's better that you're here. No matter how down-in-the-dumps it may seem now, you'll enjoy working here much better then school."

"Naruto…" the soft-spoken Hinata surprisingly spoke up, "she meant that she'd been taken away from her life in the course of two hours. She's emotionally tired."

Blue eyes blinked. "Oh…"

Sakura smiled, feeling more at ease now. "It's okay, really. Is it possible to…um…see my room now?"

"Right," the other female nodded, "can you, um, pack up my computer and leave it in my room?"

"Leave it to me!" Naruto beamed, watching the two girls disappear to the left hallway. His grin was wiped clean from his face when they were out of sight. "Sasuke…what are you thinking, dragging an innocent girl into the tainted world we live in? I hope you know what you're doing…"

They walked down to the very end of the hall. "This is your room," Hinata said quietly. Sakura put the key into the lock that she'd received from Sasuke. "His room is that one, right across." The main question that ran through her mind as she slowly turned the key, though, was what in the world was she going to wear? She'd left with only her backpack, which was also gone now.

"Uh, Hinata, I'm just wondering…what am I going to do clothing-wise?" she opened the door and turned on the light. It reminded her of a hotel room. There was a double bed, and in the back corner was a fairly large desk. The bathroom was against the back wall.

"That should already be taken care of, if Sasuke fetched you already," she replied, entering her room as well. She walked over to the mirror that lay on top of the dresser, and pulled out the bottom drawer. It was full of shirts. She gave a small smile at the aghast expression the other held. "He likes to stay on top of things…normally," she explained, shutting it.

At first she was wondering who in the world had picked all this stuff. It was twice the amount of garments she owned at home. The second thought was more of disgust. He'd been planning for her to come here all along? She was a…_mission_? "Bastard…" Sakura finished her previous thought out loud, yet under her breath.

"Excuse me?" Hinata asked, not hearing her properly.

"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself."

The other female blinked, then gave up on trying to figure out her incoherent word. "If you'll excuse me, Sakura. I still have some work to finish, and I'd rather not be doing it tomorrow…"

"Was I stopping you? I'm sorry. You get going…I'm…tired anyway." Well, that had been a lie, but it was a very convincing lie.

"Okay. I'll see you…in the morning…I guess." She turned on her heel and left without a glance back.

Once Hinata had been gone for about two minutes, Sakura lowered herself onto the bed. It was soft. Just like home. Thinking over (for the fifth time that night) what'd happened in the past few hours, a sad smile couldn't help being pushed to her face. She'd gotten what she wanted right? She learned something on Uchiha Sasuke. Not thinking, she picked up the phone, and dialed long-distance to her house.

"Mom?" she questioned as the phone was answered.

"Sakura! Dear, I'm so glad you found time out of your busy schedule to call us. Things must be hectic."

"Uh…yeah, they are…"

"Well, I just want you to know that your father and I are very proud of you." Her daughter was about to interject with a question, but on her mother went, "I mean, even nearing the end of the year, it's amazing that you were selected. That **is** one of the most prestigious schools in the country, you know." Her eye twitched. What exactly did Sasuke or his employee tell them anyway? "How's your room mate?"

"Uh…I'm alone…"

"Wow, they must have spare rooms then. Anyway, the principal called earlier saying that all clothing costs would be taken care of, so I guess we won't be coming up this weekend. Did you receive your things?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, good. I always knew that Blue Castle's service was great, but this is…really. Wow." Sakura's eye twitched again. How in the world did they pull off sending her to the most renowned all-girl's boarding school this side of the country?

She played along anyway. No sense in worrying her parents. "Uh, yeah. Everyone here was really nice," she referred to Naruto and Hinata, "but things always seem busy. They're very straight forward." That, would be Sasuke.

Her mother nodded, "Well it's to be expected. Anyway, honey, it's late and it's long distance. Call again soon okay?"

Then the line went dead. She replaced the receiver carefully. Her own mother would send her away to boarding school with notice of thirty seconds? Some loving parent she was. Not knowing where they came from, she felt a tear slide down her cheek. Then another, and yet another. This, really, really wasn't her day. At all.

* * *

In the morning, the sun's ray's started to shine through the white curtains, stirring the pink haired girl from slumber. She gripped the perfectly white sheets closer, and inhaled the unfamiliar sent. Her eyes opened to an empty looking room.

'Right…' she remembered. This was home now. So it hadn't been a dream. She went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. Glancing quickly at the mirror, her hair was a mess, and her green eyes were still rather red.

After a quick ten-minute shower, she exited in a fluffy white towel. Most things seemed to be white when it came to linens here, rather then her usual pink ones. "Let's test out this wardrobe," she told herself, throwing open the tiny closet doors. She pulled out a black pair of khakis, and went to her drawers and grabbed a light green sleeveless shirt. Surprisingly, they fit perfectly, even her undergarments, which she tried not to think about how they'd gotten so accurate.

The clock registered the time as 8:30. With a sigh, she wondered what to do. It wasn't like she knew where to find anyone, other then Sasuke, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with him. She slipped the gold key into her pockets and left her room quietly. The next door down, a girl was also doing the same.

They glanced at each other for a moment. "Who are you?" the brunette female asked, with a blink of her matching eyes. She wore a button-up pink T-shirt, and baggy black cargo pants.

She didn't answer for a second, until she realized she must have looked like an idiot then, simply standing there. "It's…Sakura. I'm new, I just came yesterday."

"Oh." Was that really all she had to say? Then she broke out into a small smile. "I heard about you from…well someone. The name's Tenten. Nice to meet you." The two shook hands. "Wanna go grab something to eat? I'll show you to the way."

"Thanks, that'd be great." They waited for the elevator wordlessly and entered silently as well.

"You know," Tenten finally spoke, when they reached the ground floor, "you really shouldn't worry about it. This is a great place. You'll see."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, and the other pointed to her still sort of puffy eyes. "Oh…okay…"

The cafeteria was located near the back of the place, which Sakura had been observing. The lobby had been busier, and this time didn't look like an abandoned warehouse. The brunette said a brief 'good morning' to some co-workers as the two stood in line for something to eat.

"So…" Tenten tried to spark up conversation as the two sat down at a table, "you're a high school student?"

"Yeah…last year."

"I see. You're like me when I started here two years ago."

"People sure start young here."

The other laughed, "Well, there are reasons." She didn't say anything more on the subject, and sipped her tea slowly. "Oh…I forgot to tell you. We're going to be co-workers."

"Really?" she feigned some interest, scooping up part of her scrambled eggs.

"Yup. I'm also…" she lowered her voice, "working on the case. You come to me when devices are concerned. Arms, actually."

She was going to be using arms? She inwardly shuddered at the thought. "Sakura."

Both ladies looked up at Uchiha Sasuke, face as identical as it was yesterday, He took a seat in between them around the circular table. "I was given this today, for you." He handed her a cherry pink flip phone. "This is for work purposes only."

"Thanks," she accepted it, and scrolled through the features, since it was already on. Her contacts were also already added. She recognized about…five names in total. "Oh, I forgot to ask you yesterday," she started, remembering that she actually hadn't forgotten, just that he was so damn absorbed in talking. "Is it possible, to…now I don't know if this is asking a lot, but get my own laptop?"

"Sure. Someone will bring it up later this afternoon."

Sakura gazed at the other female from the corner of her eye. She didn't seem remotely surprised, and was well into her bagel. They were eating in silence again, and she found no reason to talk. The atmosphere was still awkward around here.

"One other thing." She quirked her head, waiting for the onyx eyed teen to continue. "You'll be meeting your superior officer today. As well…my parents would like to see you."

This surprised her, the parents wanting to meet her thing. "Okay."

* * *

An hour later, she'd been running all around the bottom floor, getting to know the area. Her photographic memory had really helped. She found Sasuke outside the second floor elevators. This time, the ones on the right hand side. Those elevators went to the offices, as well as several levels of the factory. She hadn't visited that part yet, nor did she want to.

"Seems you found your way here perfectly fine," he commented, leading her through a maze of small offices and cubicles. Some people looked up and muttered, "Mr. Uchiha" while others had their heads bent down, writing furiously, or typing away on a keyboard.

They stopped in front of the door labeled K. Hatake. He rapped lightly on the door, which opened moments later. There stood a rather tall man, silver hair sticking out of every corner of his head. He wore an eye patch over his right eye and a cloth mask over his lower face. "Good to see you made it on time, Sasuke, Sakura."

They walked inside the messy office. Papers were spilling off the desk onto the floor, where there were also empty trays from the cafeteria. It reminded Sakura of a guy from one of the TV shows where the guy's boss is over worked and is a total insomniac. That was the vibe she got from this Hatake person.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Sakura," he extended his hand, which she took with a firm grip. "The name's Hatake. Hatake Kakashi. Won't you both take a seat? Feel free to push those papers on the floor.

She smiled nervously, placing them gently on the floor where as Sasuke roughly pushed them off his chair. He cleared his throat, "Well, since it is the weekend, I'll get straight too it. Sakura, this job is of great responsibility. You know what's at stake, right?"

"Yes, I got that."

"We recently sent Sasuke on a mission, to gather some information on Gato, and I assume you know who he is as well." He received another nod. "Well amongst his lengthy travels…" this sounded like a story, "he'd caught wind of an interesting rumor, that at the high school he was stationed at there was someone who was capable of finding anything."

Sasuke was looking bored at this point. He was well aware of what happened on **his** mission. "And, that was me," Sakura finished his thought.

"Precisely. You proved to be quite useful, little miss. I've heard some good things about you."

"So I've heard," she replied, stealing another glance at Sasuke.

"Well, getting to the point," he put a clump of papers from his desk into a folder, "it was decided by the higher-ups that…Sasuke, you'll continue to work on information, with the help of new recruit, Haruno Sakura."

Needless to say, the Uchiha was beyond the point in controlling his anger now. "What?" he was on his feet, grabbing the front of Kakashi's white shirt. His boss, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm. "The reason that **she's** here is to replace me. Instead I could be doing something more useful like…like being their bodyguard or something! Dad's too ignorant, and Mom can't protect herself!"

He gazed at him through his one good eye. "While threats may work with other people, Sasuke, I don't follow your orders. You may be the heir to this multibillion-dollar company, but that doesn't mean I listen to you yet. Are we clear?"

She could have sworn she heard Sasuke emit a low growl before storming out of the office. "His temper…" he sighed, sitting back down, "sometimes it gets the better of him. Don't worry about it too much." He handed the pink haired girl an envelope. Inside were two folders. "This is your first mission," he explained, "the other folder is for Sasuke. He'll know the drill and you can formulate a plan tomorrow evening. Please give this to him later."

"Okay…" she said, clutching the package tightly. "Um…do you know where I might find Sasuke now?"

"His parent's offices. I presume you're heading there next, right?" She nodded again. "Go back to the elevators, and they're the fifth floor, the only office on it."

"Thank you," she bowed slightly.

"Don't mention it. If there's ever a problem with Sasuke, come talk to me." He received another nod before she closed the door behind her. Didn't she get dizzy from nodding so much?

Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the fifth floor offices. Unlike the other floors, this one was empty at the moment. It also was the most intriguing. The floors were marble like the lobby, and two bronze lion statues sat glaring at each other. Moving further inside, there were more exquisite furnishings that came from every end of the globe.

Straight head, there was a large door, and two voices were coming from inside. "…I've worked my way up until here…"

"This is not up for discussion!"

Now would have been probably a good time to leave, but she was being expected, right? Her fingers hit the oak door rather loudly, and both voices immediately quieted. The door was opened, and she met the none other then the furious stare of her new partner. "Sorry, is this a bad time?"

He looked like he was about to say yes, but a female voice made its presence known. "Of course not! Sasuke, Fugaku, both of you stop it this instant!" A woman who looked like she was in her forties appeared, long raven hair trailing behind her. Her face brightened. "Ah, you must be Miss Sakura. No one else has pink hair. Come in, please."

Sakura pushed some of that pink hair from her face in nervousness. She took a seat next to a fuming Sasuke. Then she looked at the main desk, where a gruff looking man sat, looking stern. He gave off the air of power. "P-pleased to meet you," she said shakily, but didn't move to shake any of their hands at all.

The room was so quiet for a moment, you could hear the noise coming through the vents from the floor below.

"We thank you greatly for coming on such short notice," Mikoto said warmly, since none of the men were doing anything. "I hope you find your accommodations suitable?"

She felt a whole lot better talking to this woman then anyone else at this place so far. "Yes, thanks, Mrs…Uchiha."

She laughed, "You're quite the polite one, aren't you? No need to address me so formally, please. Call me Mom. Most young ones do."

"Err…okay…Mom…"

"Haruno Sakura," the head Uchiha spoke in a booming voice, making her sit up in anticipation. He looked over her, just like checking if there was anything wrong with her. When he was done, his hands folded on his desk. "I trust we can count on your cooperation. This was a fairly big decision, having you come head up this sector. Your first case shall be a test for us, seeing what you can do. Don't disappoint us."

"Sir," she replied, not risking calling him 'Dad'.

Mikoto looked from her son to her husband. "Sasuke, won't you escort your partner back to her quarters? Your father and I are very busy right now, so we'll discuss this later."

He stood up rigidly, and muttered the words, "Follow me." Sakura bowed quickly to the two heads of Sharingan, then quickly ran up to catch a fast-walking Sasuke.

The elevator ride was quiet, and so was the walk across the first floor. "Your parents seem nice," she commented, as his thrust his finger forcefully into the up button of the residential building area. He didn't respond, like she expected. It was funny. She'd known him for about a day, yet she felt like she knew him for forever. "Kakashi told me to give you this," she extended the folder.

He took it from her hands, and leaned against the mirrored walls. "Look," she said, "if I'm going to work with you for the next little while, you _will not _take your anger out on me. So just grow up."

"What do you know?" he yelled back, but she held her determined face. The elevator opened to their floor, and the two walked past a couple she hadn't met yet. When they reached the edge of the hall, he let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. I'll work with you this time. Tomorrow we'll go over the details together." That was the last thing he said before slamming the door to his room.

Her fists were clenched in anger, but she let that go after a few deep breaths. "Okay…calm down…" She opened the door to her room, and noticed a rather large package in the doorway. Her face brightened when she saw what was written. "Oh my God. This is the new model! Remind me when I actually am on good terms with high and mighty Uchiha to thank him." She pulled the brand new black laptop from its wrapping.

* * *

**TBC**

**Additional AN: **Yup, nothing much happened this chapter. But I guarantee, next chapter, we get into missions! Woohoo! Okay, one other thing regarding next chapter. **This is important! **Chapters 4 through 8 will be quite long. So here are your options. I can have faster updates, but then only post half the chapter, then the next week comes the other half. Or you could wait and get a long chapter all together. Please tell me in your review. Majority rules!

Woo. On a random and light note now. Has anyone heard the Naruto Ondo song? I'm totally obsessed with it now, no matter how funny it sounds! Rapping Shikamaru…God it's crazy! Ok, going to cut this short now. Got my stupid thepry exam now, which I'm totally NOT ready for. Wish me luck! I'll need it. -sighs- Anyway, preview for chapter 4?

_**Chapter 4 – Case 1: The Café**_  
_Sakura was always seen as someone who was constantly doing something productive. It didn't matter what, just anything really. That, and she was used to working either alone or with someone. Now someone was doing everything for her, so she was doing something useless for once in her life. It was so useless in fact, that she could have easily been doing it in her own room, said drumming her fingers upon her partner's black coffee table. "You know…you can trust me a bit more. I am your partner after all."_

"_Shut up," Sasuke replied, grabbing the pen from behind his ear, and scribbling down a note beside the picture of their main man, Kamokatsu Aoi. He was hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, but the smirk that the cyan haired man gave off was sly and sickly. _

_She clicked her tongue once in frustration, and continued to sit back and watch him reread over the description that had been collected by two co-workers named Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. It wasn't as if the facts were going to change for staring at it again and again. She sighed, but did the same anyway, as a bored expression set upon her features. She'd expected Sasuke to be somewhat closed-off, but not letting her take part in the plan was a bit much. Perhaps he hadn't quite accepted the idea that the two were to be partners. _


	4. Case 1: The Café

**A/N:** Okay…so I got distracted again. This chapter's been written for awhile. -sweatdrops- Forgive me. I've been on vacation up until last night. Yes, without the Internet, unfortunately. But I realized something. It is really hard to write when you're on vacation. Especially when it's hot outside and the pool just calls your name. Ah…Florida is so nice compared to here…well this time of year anyway. 

Moving along now. A long chapter, yes. Well, for me it is anyway. Some may find it a bit rushed, I dunno. They're long for a reason. So basically people seem to want the whole chapter, so I'm game for that. Another thing: the antagonists in all of these chapters have no real connection to their role played in the show. So even some low-life villain could have connections to the top…or whatever. Oh, you'll see.

* * *

**Chapter 4  
Case 1: The Café**

Sakura was always seen as someone who was constantly doing something productive. It didn't matter what, just anything really. That, and she was used to working either alone or with someone. Now someone was doing everything for her, so she was doing something useless for once in her life. It was so useless in fact, that she could have easily been doing it in her own room, said drumming her fingers upon her partner's black coffee table. "You know…you can trust me a bit more. I am your partner after all."

"Shut up," Sasuke replied, grabbing the pen from behind his ear, and scribbling down a note beside the picture of their main man, Kamokatsu Aoi. He was hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, but the smirk that the cyan haired man gave off was sly and sickly.

She clicked her tongue once in frustration, and continued to sit back and watch him reread over the description that had been collected by two co-workers named Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. It wasn't as if the facts were going to change for staring at it again and again. She sighed, but did the same anyway, as a bored expression set upon her features. She'd expected Sasuke to be somewhat closed-off, but not letting her take part in the plan was a bit much. Perhaps he hadn't quite accepted the idea that the two were to be partners.

The man who was rumored to have a connection with the Akatsuki was Aoi. She was informed that the Akaksuki was the name they'd all given the group of assassins, since all captured persons mentioned that word. It seemed he was reportedly seen everyday at a small café on the edge of her hometown. She turned to the next sheet, which was another small description on the owner, Morino Idate. He looked rather young, with a nice shade of brown hair. He had nothing to do with Aoi, so it seemed, but passed on information without his knowledge. Sakura wasn't exactly sure how that worked, though.

"The words aren't going to change the sixth time you read it over, you know," she finally voiced her thoughts, irritation clearly heard in her voice.

"Thank you for your intellectual impute, Sakura," he responded, not liking the disruption so much. "If it makes you feel any better I've come up with a starter plan."

"Oh, **do** share, please!"

Their eyes met, them clearly not enjoying the company of the other. "Look, since it's your first time going out undercover and all, I'll do most of the work this time around. The first day, we'll observe the scene. The second half of the plan works after getting some new info."

Do most things himself? She held in a sarcastic laugh. It was more like he'd do everything. "So…let me get this straight. You dragged me all the way from my home so I could help…only to be not needed in the end. I see the logic in that. Totally," her reply was accompanied with an eye-roll.

If there was one thing she had yet to learn, it was that Sasuke had low patience at times. "I was trying to be helpful!"

"It didn't seem like it!" she was on the verge of yelling, as she got to her feet.

"Yeah? Well I'd like to see you _try_ and do something perfectly your first time around, without help!"

"Is that a challenge I'm detecting?"

"And what if it is, Ms. Haruno?"

"Then I'll make you eat your words, Uchiha!" with that, she walked out of his room and into her own. Inside, she knocked her head lightly against the wall. That planning session hadn't gone too smoothly. Plus she had no idea how this worked. How was she going to work this one out? She threw the files onto her bed, and sunk to the floor. She'd just have to improvise. And if she screwed this up…no. She wouldn't mess it up. This was her only chance to prove to Sasuke that she meant business, and perhaps her only chance to gain his trust. She'd show him…somehow…

* * *

It was now Monday morning, so Sakura was used to jumping up at 8 in the morning. However, she remembered that this wasn't an ordinary Monday. Today was her first mission, as well as the day she'd prove to her partner Uchiha Sasuke that she was indeed a valuable person. She hastily threw a long white skirt from the closet and picked a black top.

After throwing it on quickly, she fixed her long pink hair in a loose bun. She picked up a pink fabric purse (which she also found in the closet along with a leather wallet) and walked into the common area. No one she knew was sitting there, just another boy around her age. He wore all green, and his hair was completely gelled down. He was currently drinking a coffee, pacing in a line while holding a paper in his hands.

She decided not to say anything, and wait for Sasuke. She didn't have to wait long, before he came out wearing black pants and a navy top. "So," he said, sitting opposite her, observing her sip hot chocolate, "enlighten me on how you'll pull this off."

"Simple," she replied coolly, "I'll do it myself. I was a pretty good actress at school, you know. It's how I got most of my other information."

"No, I trust you completely," he said monotone. Sakura could tell he wasn't serious. "So in that case I'll be around the corner in a special car, waiting to pick you up." He handed her a sliver necklace with a round pendant, intricate designs covering the front. "A microphone," he explained, "so I'll hear everything that's going on. When you're on missions without me, never take it off."

"Yes boss," but she fastened it around her neck anyway. "Oh, is it possible for this special car to be a taxi?"

He looked at her for a minute, wondering what she was thinking. "Sure."

"Good, now let's go grab some breakfast because I'm starving, and I can't work on an empty stomach."

Within minutes the two were down in the cafeteria, a fair amount of other workers there as well. Of course, no one she recognized, but everyone mentioned a "good morning" to Sasuke as they passed by. He replied with only a curt nod, and they took a table off to the side. The two ate in silence, he reading over the case one final time, she not really wanting to disturb him.

When they were finished a good fifteen minutes later, they stepped outside, noting the gloomy gray clouds that loomed overhead. "Hopefully it'll be nicer in the city," Sakura stated, as the two walked for a bit down the paved road, and into the subway station that she'd visited not too many days ago.

The ride was basically as silent as the rest of the morning had been, the only real noise was the screeching of metal wheels against metal rails. The sound was slowly eating away at Sakura's patience, as she tried to do something more, like plan how this was going to work. Her mouth had gotten ahead of her brain last night, so she was in quite the situation. What kind of guy was this Aoi person like? What about the manager? Maybe she could do something about him.

Having such a discreet job at school, she was good with improvising, as well as acting in general. Her last school had around 700 students, and she knew a fair amount of things about 699 of them (the last one being Sasuke). How else did she find out all those things? She just had a knack for things like that ever since she was very young, when she solved the mystery of her dad's missing keys. In fact she remembered him put it down on the piano, and vaguely remembered the cat knocking it over some time later. Like she told him, they were indeed under the piano.

In all her reminiscing of the past, she failed to notice that Sasuke was explaining something. "So, you're alright with that, I presume?"

"Uh…yeah, I got it."

He looked at her, raising his eyebrow ever so slightly. "Then you understand that you'll need to get…intimate with him, right?" He was slightly amused at the reaction she got, as she tried to hide her panic and fear as best she could. With a sigh, he repeated: "Please try to focus here. I knew you weren't listening. What I was saying was that when we get to the station, I need some time to fix up the wiring so that microphone in your necklace works properly. So would you please stand to cover me?"

Her face flushed, seeing how easily he got to her. "Right…got it this time."

As she spoke her final words, the car jerked forward and began to slow. She clenched her pink purse tightly, and followed him onto the platform, which brought back more memories of a few nights past. They traveled up the old elevator, and waited until the coast was clear before entering into the main station. It was now well past 10, so most people were already either at work or school. School where she was supposed to be, but now was a key in unlocking a mystery assassin group. School sounded really appealing at this point.

Out in the parking lot, Sasuke was already busy looking for something, as his head went back and forth scanning the area. He spotted what he was looking for. "Here," he motioned to a yellow car, the word 'Taxi' on a sign that stood over the roof. "This is the one."

Sakura looked at the other yellow taxis around. "How can you be sure? They all look the same."

"You're a detective of sorts, put some pieces together. You'll recognize this one because its right headlight is broken, see? None of the others are the same," he explained, walking over to the vehicle and opening the door manually, rather then waiting for the driver to come over. "I'll be one second, so stand in front of the window."

"Right," she nodded, and sparked up a conversation with the driver. Of course he was in on the whole thing, but Sasuke had warned Sakura of who she could trust; which was no one. Not even him, and he could never trust her.

Inside the taxi, the raven-haired teen pulled out a small box, and hooked it up to the car's front AC outlet. He turned the knob slowly, listening to the static, and then he began to hear his partner's voice. He switched it off, placed the box under the seat, and reopened the door. "Okay, let's go."

They were both sitting in the back seat of the car, neither of them saying a word, as the driver was doing all the talking. "…and you'd never imagine what kind of…"

While the man in the front seat was jabbering away, the Uchiha leaned over and whispered some words in her ear. "It'll be interesting to see how you pull this off. But worse comes to worse, I'll back you up. We won't loose this one."

She smiled back, though it was icy. "Don't worry. I'll do such a good job, even you'll be proud." He gave a rather skeptical look, but shrugged it off anyway. Thankfully it wasn't that much longer until they reached the edge of the town, and the clock where resided the café. Looking out the window, she noted the poorer part of town. There were a few people on the street, walking around with a cigarette in their mouths, and hands in their trench coat pockets. "I think I overdressed," she mused aloud, glancing at her new and flowing white skirt.

"It's fine. And if it isn't…well make something up," he said as the car pulled to a stop the block before the café. They gave each other one final glance, and Sakura stepped out of the fake taxi. She watched it turn in the next street and stop. It was perfectly hidden in the shadows. The few people that were on the street started to stare, sending shivers down her spine. She swallowed the lump in her throat as her green eyes looked up at the old sign.

The windows were rather dusty on the outside, distorting her vision to the inside. Now what was the plan? She was kind of glad Sasuke hadn't given her a way for her to hear him. Who knows what he'd say at this point? The front door was glass, and this way she could see clearer inside. It wasn't very crowded, just two tables occupied with single people. The bar at the front was empty.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say she had to muster nearly all her courage to open that door. A soft bell made her presence known, as the two people from the tables looked up, their eyes seeming to glare menacingly. They followed her trail up until the counter. This was even more nerve-racking then her first job interview.

"Okay, so far I don't see anyone familiar," she breathed to the pendant on her neck, being as discreet as possible.

She didn't even notice a man in his early twenties walk out from the kitchen area. "Excuse me, Miss, are you alright?" Sakura jumped, clearly startled at being addressed while she was mumbling to herself.

"Oh, yes, thank you." She recognized him as the owner, Idate. He looked identical to his picture in the portfolio. He was also still staring oddly at the unfamiliar female. "Sorry, I was just talking to myself. I do that when I'm frustrated. I was supposed to…um…meet my boyfriend here."

The brunet man raised both eyebrows. "Really? All the way out here? I haven't seen you before, Miss. There are only usuals that come around."

"Oh, well I moved here last week and my boyfriend asked me if I knew a place to meet. So I'd seen this place and I thought…why the hell not, right?" she began to laugh nervously, all eyes upon her. "Sorry," she apologized suddenly, "you must think I'm totally weird!"

"Oh, no, not at all Miss…um…"

"Sakura."

"Miss Sakura then. Welcome to my café then. My name is Morino Idate. Can I get you anything?" he asked courteously.

He seemed like a nice guy, was what she thought. His soft personality could easily be worked to her advantage. She inwardly smirked, a plan formulating in her mind. 'Watch this one, Sasuke," she thought, then turned her attention back to the owner, "Um, nothing right now thanks. I'll wait until he gets here." With a nod, he went to talk to one of the other customers.

Definitely the hardest part of her plot, was the waiting. She was edgy just from the lack of activity, but also to move her new character along. It was then when her mobile went off vibrating in her purse. "Excuse me," she asked Idate, who was fixing a cup of coffee from behind the counter, "where's the restroom?"

He pointed to the left, and she thanked him, and walked into the small washroom. Then she pressed the redial button on her pink cell. "What's up?" she asked Sasuke.

"What do you mean 'what's up'? What in the world are you doing?" he sounded awfully frustrated.

"I'm going along with my plan, of course. These things take time!"

"Well I really haven't got all day, so speed up your process." Then the connection was cut.

"Fine, fine," she said aloud, so he could hear her through the necklace. She walked back and took a seat at the bar. "Um…" she timidly got the brunet's attention, "I am getting kind of thirsty. Can I have…a latte?"

"Sure thing, Miss. Coming right up," he smiled slightly and turned his back to her. In the meantime, Sakura continued observing the place. Spark up a conversation…spark up…her eyes rested on a picture on the counter. There were two kids, a boy and a girl. Both must have been pre-teens. "Here you go. On the house."

"Thanks so much," she spoke gratefully, and sipped the hot liquid. It was time to put on her act. "Why is it that men always do this? You never can really trust one you know?" She glanced quickly upward from her hands, seeing that she indeed had gotten his attention. "But…I thought…I thought he could be it…" she tried her hardest to sound on the verge of tears.

Idate seemed to be in a slight state of panic. Things were floating along just as she expected. This man was way too nice for his own good. "Uh, there, there. Please don't cry. He's just an ass. There'll be others…" he placed a hand slowly on her shoulder.

She blinked so many times while she was hiding her face what it did indeed look like her eyes had glazed over. "Really? Thanks a lot…it means so much to me."

"Good, then you stop crying over him!" he instructed sternly.

She giggled, "Okay then." It was at that point, where she believed it was safe to spark up a friendly conversation with him. "Say…so how long have you been running this place?"

It must have been a good twenty minutes since they'd been chatting, and Sakura still hadn't heard anything remotely useful as to Aoi, or anything of the sort. "Who're they?" she asked as her next question, pointing to the picture she'd been looking at earlier.

"Them? They're my niece and nephew, Souma and Ryou. They're…oh man, I don't even remember anymore it's been so long. Maybe around twelve, thirteen now?"

"They must be really lucky, to have such a nice uncle like you," she smiled sweetly, still overdoing the flattery.

This must have been the third time he blushed in embarrassment. "Oh…no really I…" He stopped right in the middle of his speech, as the door opened to the café once more. A man with cyan hair walked in, jerking his head in Idate's direction.

Sakura looked on cautiously. So this was what Kamokatsu Aoi resembled in real-life. His presence alone made her shiver, and the fact knowing that he was involved in a possible assassination group made it all the worse. "Uh…why don't you see to him for a moment?" she suggested, while she formulated another plan.

He left and spoke to the man who sat at the opposite end of the bar. "Okay, I'm taking this off for a sec," she whispered into the pendant, which she unfastened from her neck. "It's him, so no complaints," she explained.

The café owner came back. "Sorry about that. So where were we?"

The pink haired teen pretended to think. "I forgot," her reply came out sheepish. Her emerald eyes kept glancing quickly towards Aoi, who seemed content, eating a bagel and taking sips of some coffee here and there. "Hey, um, do you think I could get a refill?" she asked pushing her mug towards him.

"Sure thing," he grinned and quickly turned around. Swiftly, she placed the chain into his back pocket, making sure the microphone part was still hanging out. She beamed inwardly. That had worked out slightly better then expected. "Here."

"Thanks," she smiled, putting some coins on the table, which he took. "Is he a regular too?" she asked, glancing this time fully at Aoi, "you guys seem to be awfully friendly."

Perhaps it was her imagination, but she could have sworn she saw his expression falter for a second. "Sort of," he replied shortly, "excuse me for a second." He walked over to where the man was silently beckoning for him. Crossing her fingers, she desperately hoped Sasuke would hear this.

The sound coming from the box was now faint, and the onyx-eyed male was ready to kill her. What part of 'don't take it off no matter what' was unclear to her? With an irritated sigh, he turned up the volume, which increased the static noise, but at least the voices were louder as well. "What can I get you now, Aoi?"

There was silence for a second. "I need to borrow the back room tomorrow. I'm meeting up with an employee. I trust I can use it again, right?"

"I guess. But last time it caused a whole mess, remember?"

"Don't worry, Idate. I have it all under control this time. He'll be here for sure at noon sharp."

Sakura watched as the creepy man placed a few coins on the table, and said a final thing to him before parting. She hadn't heard a word they'd talked about, but it must have been something serious, as the brunet's eyebrows kept it's place in a frown.

"Sorry again, Miss Sakura," he said solemnly.

"Please," she held up her hand, "don't add a 'Miss' to my name. It makes me sound old."

He laughed, "Okay then, Sakura." The only problem now was getting the chain back.

What she needed was a diversion. Well, the delusion technique usually worked. "Oh my God, Idate! Is that coffee boiling over?"

"What?" he asked in reply, his eyes widening in panic as he turned around. With a swift move, she swiped it back from his pocket. And he hadn't even noticed a thing.

"Oh. I'm so sorry for scaring you! It must have been my imagination. This whole day is making me crazy, you know, him not showing up and all…"

Slightly more relaxed, he replied, "I totally understand."

"I think I'll take my leave now, thanks. If he drops by and asks for me, tell him we're through."

"Uh…right…" he replied, "would you like me to call a taxi?"

"No thanks, I'll grab one from the street."

He tilted his head to the side. "But there's hardly any of them that come by."

Sakura blinked. Crap. "Uh…well there were a bunch when I came. Thanks for everything," she said quickly and exited the café right after. "Come pick me up," she whispered into the necklace, as she pretended to search the rather empty streets for a taxi. She knew very well that Idate was still watching. She waved down the marked car, and it stopped in front of her, and in clear view of the owner.

She hopped in, shielding Sasuke from the eyes of Idate, as she closed the door. The vehicle drove off instantly. Inside, Sakura gave off a proud smile. "Now, tell me who did a good job."

He simply rolled his eyes. "It was pretty good for your first time," he gave her that much. "So, now, planning for tomorrow…"

"What?" she gave an exasperated sigh, "you mean we aren't done?"

"We didn't finish our task," he informed his partner of the obvious. "The file says we need to capture Aoi. What we did today was figure out a way to get him. I'll take care of it tomorrow, though."

"Hey," she pointed a finger at his face, "I just proved myself today. I want to help you plan this too, Mister I-shall-do-everything-myself. Even after today you can't put a little faith in me?"

They both stared at each other for a long time, both not backing down. What a coincidence that two equally stubborn people got put together. "Fine," he said, brushing some strands of dark hair from his face. They reached the train station, and Sasuke spoke to the driver about some sort of payment. They made their way back to the hidden elevator and onto the private platform. This almost seemed routine for Sakura now. While on the train, he spoke up again. "So we know that he, as well as an underling will be there tomorrow at noon. So we need to catch them then. It's the best time. How are we going to do that? That's your job."

She remained thoughtful for a moment. What had she seen today that could be useful? An idea hit her full-force. "I got it! We're going to run the place tomorrow." Sasuke looked over to the opposite side of the train, where she seemed extremely pleased with herself. "We're going to disguise ourselves as his niece and nephew."

"Souma and Ryou?" he questioned, now thinking of the possibilities. "Yes…it could be done. We'll take out Idate tonight, and replace him tomorrow. Since our target and him seem rather close, it'd make sense if he knew and trusted anyone related to Idate." He resisted the urge to chuckle at the ridiculous expression that was set on Sakura's face.

"I'm so glad I'm finally helping, somewhat. It makes me feel a little more comfortable."

"Well start thinking of a way for this to work, and then you can go off into your little world," he said coldly, all whatever happiness there was now replaced with seriousness.

"Well…if they're going to look older…the girl kind of looked like me," she mused, "except with really dark, dark hair. And the boy…" she examined Sasuke again. "Maybe he'd look a bit like you when he was older. Except with straight hair. But they both have dark hair and eyes."

He nodded understandingly. "Then may I suggest visiting downstairs today," he said, watching her perplexed expression. Right, she hadn't been downstairs yet. "It's usually where people spend their days off. There are a bunch of services down there."

She seemed awfully fond of blinking today. "You mean to tell me you have a hair salon down there?"

"If you want to call it that. You don't expect yourself to look the same everywhere you go, do you?"

"I guess that's true…" the pink haired teen replied, looking back out the window. Something told her she'd be getting used to seeing the city fly by her. This was her way of life now. While it still upset her, and she assumed it would for some time, it was still…kind of fun in a way. She was doing what she liked; she was playing detective, plus acting. Though it was all a serious matter. That set her on the right track. This was no child's game. This was the harsh reality of what happened in her now not-so perfect world.

* * *

"So I hear you did a good job today," Tenten gave Sakura a pat on the back as they both sat on an unoccupied couch back in the residence. Sasuke, low and behold, had disappeared but asked her to meet up with him in a good hour.

"Really? Says who?" she wondered.

"Well says a few people. I think I heard it from Neji, though," the brunette contemplated, staring at the blank TV screen. "Either way, you got me and him a job tonight. It's been a little while since I've gone. Neji went with Asuma and Sasuke last time."

The last time, she assumed, was when they'd tried to capture Gato. "Uh…you're welcome?" they both laughed. "You know…I hear Neji this Neji that all the time. I've hardly seen him."

"Well I'm sure you'll be meeting him shortly. We work an awful lot with Sasuke. Anyway, shouldn't you be getting downstairs? I'll show you the way."

"Thanks," the pink haired teen said gratefully, as they went to the elevator. The other pressed the button labeled B, and down they went. "Oh…when you 'take care' of Idate tonight, make sure you go easy on him. He's really a nice guy."

Tenten laughed, "Oh alright." The double doors opened on the bottom floor, and they both stepped out. It was quite an odd sight for Sakura. The floor was rather empty, and was dimly lit, unlike the other levels. The floors were carpeted with a faded blue carpet. There were several doors on each side of the long hallway. "This way. It's at the end," she guided the other.

Sakura looked through some of the clear doors as they passed. She couldn't see much…but she did make out a swimming pool, and in another one it looked like…an office? She shrugged it off. They went into the last door on the left. "Welcome, Miss Haruno. We were expecting you," a lady with flaming red hair spoke from behind the counter. "Will you be having something done too, Miss Tenten?"

"No, I'm just going to watch and laugh at her," she replied with a bright smile.

"Hey! That's no…ah!" Sakura couldn't finish her sentence as the short receptionist pushed her further into the room. She saw Sasuke was already sitting in a chair, once again going over the files. "Oh my God, Sasuke. What…"

He looked up with onyx eyes. His hair was no longer stuck in its awkward chicken-resembling style, but now was straight down, reaching his shoulders. "When they went to gather the original info, they managed to get a hold of a copy," he shrugged, "it's not that hard for me to look like Ryou. You…"

"What should be done, Master Sasuke?" another woman seemed to magically appear, this one tall and stick-like, with dyed blond hair.

"This color," he pointed to his hair, "and just leave it straight."

"Hey wait! I can handle this myself—ow!" the woman forced her into a chain and before she knew what was happening, her hair was soaked. The brunette female seemed to be having a field day, hiding her laughs. "You be quiet!" she yelled, blushing in embarrassment. "This isn't funny!"

"On the contrary, this is quite entertaining," she smiled, when a beep was heard from her pocket. "Damn, I can't stay, but be sure that I'll see you when your treatment is done. Sir Hyuuga awaits."

The Uchiha nodded, not bothering to watch her leave, and hid his smirk behind the papers he held. "I can _feel _you smiling, Uchiha! You're dead too!"

After a good hour, Sakura stood by the mirror, placing in the dark tinted contact lenses. Sasuke walked up beside her. Sakura looked at her reflection, then his. "We look related," she laughed pushing back a wad of black hair. It'd been dyed semi-permanent, and she was told that it'd most likely be gone in a good week.

"Sort of," he had to agree. It felt weird for his hair not to be up. Then again, it was weird for her hair to be dark.

"So, Ryou, are you ready for work tomorrow?"

"What kind of question is that?" he asked hotly, "it should be, are you prepared not to screw up, Souma?"

* * *

Even for a relatively early riser such as Sakura, 5 in the morning was pushing it. At first when she looked in the mirror, she found it odd that her reflection was staring back at her with a beautiful raven color. She sleepily pulled a brush from the bathroom counter drawer, and slowly began to untangle the knots.

The café opened at nine that morning. That meant they needed at least a half-hour to get things organized, plus the hour or so train ride. She yawned, pulling out a pair of black dress pants and white button-down top. This was the coordinated clothing the two would wear. Idate hadn't been wearing something as elegantly-casual as this, but it was all part of the plan.

She fastened her dark hair with a pink ribbon, and looked in the mirror in satisfaction. Wait, she'd forgotten something. She once again went over to the mirror and pulled out a small container, in which sat two onyx colored lenses. She couldn't look like Sasu—err, Ryou's sister with green orbs.

Grabbing her pink fabric purse (she'd grown quite fond of it with her few days of owning it), she quietly exited her room as not to wake anyone. The Uchiha was already sitting at a table, face down. Apparently he was none too happy about the early hour either. "Did you sleep here?" she asked quietly, jolting him from his semi-slumber.

"Hn…" he really was in no state to process any unimportant information at this point, nevermind her attempt to lighten the mood. "Let's just go…" he rose to his feet sluggishly. She had to admit, it was rather amusing watching him in this state. She had visions of him curling up on the seat in the train, and immediately falling back asleep.

But this **was** Uchiha Sasuke she was talking about. As soon as the doors opened to the deserted lobby, his façade was set to its normal stone-cold stare. Sakura stifled a yawn, remembering something as they walked outside towards the platform entrance.

"I forgot to ask…how are we going to capture this guy anyway?"

Sasuke kept his vision straight ahead. "We aren't, this time. There should be backup that comes later. You're still too inexperienced to do something like that."

It was too early for an argument. Really, it was. She sighed tiredly, and lay down across three seats on her respected side of the train car. She mumbled what sounded like a "G'night" and shut her eyes. Surprisingly the male on the other side made no comment.

Even though she meant to rest her eyes for only a few minutes, when she opened them again, the car was motionless. At first she thought they hadn't left yet, but Sasuke seemed wide awake now. "I hope you're ready, after that long nap you took," he said flatly, making sure his hair was still straight. This style really annoyed him.

They found the taxi with the broken headlight once again, but this time there was a different driver. "Hey," she said, suddenly remembering something important, "you wouldn't happen to know the personality of these kids, would you?"

He looked at her through the corner of his real onyx eyes, then they moved back towards the window. "You should have thought of that before you came up with the plan. Learn to think things through, Sakura."

"You mean Souma. Get used to calling me that or you'll slip up."

"Don't tell me what to do!" he countered, clearly annoyed. She backed down, but still held a scowl.

It was 8 in the morning when they reached the café. No sign of anyone around. Sasuke pulled out a ring of keys, and after trying a couple, the back door opened without trouble. He noticed her questioning glance. "Idate's. The two of them got this off him last night."

She nodded, entering the dark kitchen. They lit the lights, and observed what there was to work with. Hopefully the few customers that arrived today wouldn't want anything fancy. "Okay," Sasuke spoke again, "firstly fix your right contact lens; you can see the green through it. Second, the few people that we're going to get, will be stationed in the back room, where Aoi is supposed to have his little 'get-together'. Thirdly…"

"I get it," she said with a sigh, snooping around the area. Hopefully the customers wouldn't want something fancy, was her thought, as she found a rough-copy of the menu. If it involved coffee, or any other beverage, she was covered. If it took greater effort then making scrambled eggs…well…

By the time she snapped back from her 'super sleuthing', her partner was already gone. She went over to the front of the place, where he was wiping down the counters. She watched him work for a moment. It was odd how different a person he could be. He was certainly a great actor. "You going to admire me all day, or help out a bit," his mocking voice cut in, making her frown.

It seemed like they were going over the plan for the umpteenth time. It was almost 9, as Sakura flipped the open sign on the door. "Just act it out, and we'll be fine," she reassured him, opening the blinds on the window to let in some light. Her eyes widened. "Customer at 3 o'clock," she rushed behind the counter joining him, "I saw him yesterday."

A minute later, the door opened with a soft chime, revealing a twig-like man, wearing faded jeans, and a loosely fitting top. "Welcome to our café!" both teens chanted the rehearsed lines. The man looked startled.

"Who're you kids?" he asked in a raspy voice, like he'd just come over a cold.

Sasuke spoke first. "I'm Morino Ryou, and this is my sister Souma. Idate is our uncle."

Sakura happily came from behind the counter (rehearsed, of course) and continued: "Uncle is sick today, and he refused to close down. We offered to help." She watched him closely take a seat, though slowly. "We'll try to serve you as best we can!"

"Uh…right, well just an expresso will do," he coughed once into his fist, as 'Ryou' nodded and turned to the machine behind him. "Isn't the getup albeit fancy?" he pointed to her clothes.

"Oh, well we weren't quite sure what to wear. Uncle just gave us the keys, and that was it!" she began to laugh nervously.

"Funny. I hear that you're really shy and emotional at home, and Ryou's the crazy outgoing one," the man tried to flatten some messy brown hair. They both froze. So…were they playing their character wrong? She was about to speak, but the customer continued oblivious, "Well, then again, that was a long time ago. He said you were still not even teens then. Time goes fast, doesn't it?"

Sakura's nervous laugh cut through the atmosphere before Sasuke had time to recover. "It sure does!" she went up to the man and lowered her voice, "I took some classes for my problem. My dad and Ryou say it's had a negative effect on me, 'cause now I won't shut up."

"Your coffee," the other placed it in front of him, giving the 'we-need-to-talk' glance to his partner. She nodded. "Excuse us for a second," he dragged them both behind the counter, and lowered the volume to a whisper. "What in the world are you doing?"

"I'm improvising! I can't go all weird in front of someone like that. Besides, people do act different in front of their families then other people," her reply was more of a hiss. The door opened, and yet another regular, so they assumed, walked in; he was equally surprised as the last. "Welcome to our café!"

They'd been at their charade for a good two hours, when the phone in Sasuke's pocket began to vibrate. That was the signal that 'they' were here. "I'll go," she said stopping him. You're better with making this stuff then I am anyway."

"Alright," he agreed, and turned to the area where five people sat dispersed. It was busier then usual, or so it seemed.

She slipped into the kitchen, and tapped lightly on the back door. The taps were returned. She opened the door, and standing there were three young men. A lot of the people working for this company seemed awfully young…well in the investigation department anyway. One, she recognized as Hyuuga Neji. The other two she'd seen briefly in the common room, but they'd never noticed her.

"Yo," the male on her left greeted with a type of smile, revealing slightly pointed incisors. "You must be Sasuke's new partner."

"It is an honor to meet such a brilliant mind!" the other whom she did not know the name of spoke with enthusiasm.

Neji was first to step inside, and looked around before speaking. "Good to meet you," he said briefly shaking her hand. "My name is Hyuuga Neji. These two are Inuzuka Kiba," which happened to be the first man, "and Rock Lee."

"How we now have such a caring and talented beauty in charge of us this time!" Rock Lee seemed to be on the verge of happy tears, and clasped both her hands in his. "Please take care of us!"

"Uh…yeah, sure," Sakura replied, some dark hair falling out of the hair tie she'd placed it in earlier.

"Oi, Lee, you're scaring her," Kiba commented, prying his hands off. "Anyway, we know what to do. I was one of the ones who did the original investigation," he gave a proud smile, "so we'll wait 'til both of you are ready."

"Right…" she replied dumbly, returning to Sasuke in the front. "Are all your employees young?" curiosity got the better of her and she asked him quickly.

"No, just this section," he replied equally curt, "give this to the lady in the back corner." A tray with a mug of hot chocolate and a muffin was thrust into her hands. She wordlessly placed it where it was designated, and received a small bill in return.

"I feel kind of bad, keeping money from this," she grinned sheepishly, fingering whatever money she'd collected already.

Sasuke, however, was no longer listening. His onyx eyes trailed the path of a being outside the shop; it was a being with greenish hair. Aoi. The door opened with that same low chime. "Welcome to our café," they both chanted again. That phrase was starting to greatly annoy Sasuke.

His expression resembled most of the others, perhaps even more so. "Where's Idate?" was his first question. They didn't get the 'who are you' that everyone else had asked. This man was straight to the point.

"Uncle is on sick leave today, Sir," Sakura said brightly, though her heart thumped loudly, "we're filling in for him until he gets better, so please, have a seat. Me and my brother Ryou will try and serve you as best as we can."

The cyan haired man looked indecisive for a moment, but sat down at the counter anyway. They had to gain this man's trust, or a little bit somehow. Sakura decided to let some acting skills flow. "What would you like, Sir? Anything in particular?"

"You sure are enthusiastic. Don't go pretending around, little girl. Your tip aint gonna get any larger," he commented instead of placing an order.

Perfect, she though smugly. It was time for the glossy-eyed act. "Y-you think I was pretending?" her body turned slightly toward Sasuke, but still faced Aoi. "Oh, I **knew** I wasn't cut out for this job! Uncle Idate will hate me now! I tried so hard too! Oh Ryou!"

To say he was startled when his partner ran up and hugged him tightly was an understatement. "Ryou! He'll hate me! He'll know that they said bad things about me…and…and…"

Right, acting. He was good at that. He placed a pale hand atop her what was once pink head, and responded in a voice that was quite soothing. "No, uncle would never hate you. He's not like that." Her shoulders were shaking. Okay, so she was a good actress, sort of. Instead of crying, she was half laughing into his shirt. Not that the older man sitting from behind the counter could tell, though. His expression was that of somewhat panic. "Why don't you go wash your face in the back for now, okay?"

"Okay," she made sure that their target heard her squeak of a response, before dashing through the doors to the kitchen. When Sakura was sure that she could no longer be heard, she let out a small chuckle. That performance should have been worth an Oscar.

Meanwhile back on the other side, Sasuke walked up to Aoi, leaning against the counter and lowering his voice. "Listen, I don't know how to say this…but maybe you should say sorry." The other looked like he was going to say something, but he continued regardless. "She's got these emotional problems, you see, and can't handle these types of situations very well."

"Err…right…" he nodded before speaking again. "Say, did your uncle mention anything about me, Kamokatsu Aoi?"

This was playing out better then most of his missions so far, he couldn't help but inwardly smirk. "Hmm. It sounds familiar. Oh! Right…something about letting you use the back room."

"Yes, that's it. I'd appreciate some privacy when we're there, though, squirt. If you do, you'll receive more then enough. You and your sister Souma."

As if on queue, Sakura came though the doors, her head down. "I'm really sorry, Mister. I really didn't mean it. Please don't say bad things about me to Uncle Idate."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I won't," his crooked smile looked forced, but for Sakura's character, it was enough to brighten her face. "Now, I think I'll have a cup of green tea."

A few minutes later, it was as if the place had been recently been closed down. The only customers left was a short, scrawny man (who reminded her of a rat in a way) and Aoi. However, that was soon to change. The door chimed again. There stood a rather rich looking man, gazing disapprovingly at the place. He spotted whom he was looking for at the front.

Both 'Morino siblings' respected their privacy, and let them talk quietly at the front of the room. "Now what?" Sakura asked, eyeing them carefully.

"Those three have the back, so we need to take the front. Stay out of this one," Sasuke instructed calmly, though she could tell he was anxious too.

"We're going to be using the back now, kid," the cyan haired man called out to whichever of the two, and the wealthier one took off first through the double doors.

When they both were gone, Sasuke quickly moved towards the last man, knowing there might not be a lot of time. "Sorry sir. We're closing early, goodbye." He protested for a little bit, until he was thrown out. Sasuke locked the door behind him, and Sakura proceeded to close the blinds.

When she was done with the blinds, she ran back over to the doors, pressing her ear against the cold surface. It was rather hard to hear. They didn't seem to be making any noise. Until she could make out a faint shout. Then another voice yelled out a: "What the **hell**?"

"Sasuke, someone's coming!" she called to her partner, quickly backing away from the door and running beside him.

"Idiot! I thought I told you to—" the doors opened, and revealed a frantic-looking Kamokatsu Aoi. His eyes darted towards the door, where 'Ryou' stood glaring, and 'Souma' standing rather timidly by his side.

"You…" his voice was low and menacing. "You bastards. Move this instant." Neither budged, but Sakura did make sure she was closer to her partner. "I said **move**!" She felt Sasuke reach inside his deep pant pocket and he pulled out a fairly small handgun. No one moved for a minute, as the captive's eyes darted from back to the gun. "Now…you be good kids, and move out of the way so I can pass. We wouldn't want your Uncle saying I had trouble. Get it?"

The doors were opened once again, and out came a panting Kiba. "Alright, your turn!" he growled loudly, cracking his knuckles. "Sasuke, he's got no weapon. Get him."

That was all the natural raven-haired teen needed to know, and both males closed in from either side. Before Sakura knew it, the cyan haired man was on the floor, arms held tightly behind his back. Neji came to the front next, followed by Lee who was no carrying the other man, who was now unconscious.

"Okay…so that last bit was kind of scary…" she spoke under her breath, thankful that this mission was over. It had gone over completely smoothly.

Sasuke bent down, looking Aoi in the eye. "Listen carefully, Kamokatsu Aoi of the Akatsuki," at the mention of this, the captive's eyes widened, then narrowed, "if you ever get in contact with your leader ever again, which I highly doubt you will, but tell him that you got caught by Uchiha Sasuke."

"If you think you're getting anything out of us, you're wrong," he yelled, as he was hauled up onto his feet, and was dragged away towards the back. "We're low in the chain, and there are plenty more of us left. We've never even met our leader…"

Now only the two undercover teens were there, listening to Aoi scream out other nonsense. "Sasuke…" she rested a hand on his shoulder, which he brushed off instantly. He turned to face her, his façade as usual unreadable.

"You did well." He patted her on the head like a child, but she was still kind of happy to hear such a thing coming from an ice cube of a partner. Maybe things would work between them. "Let's go home."

She untied her messy raven colored hair. "Sure," then she thought of something, "hey, does this mean that you'll treat me like an equal now?"

He looked skeptical. She'd definitely done way better then expected for a first time, but Sasuke was never quite ready to accept many people, and after simply less then a week at that. "Perhaps. We'll see what happens next time."

Sakura smiled again. "Okay."

* * *

**Additional AN: **I kind of had fun imagining Sasuke with straight hair. And Sakura with dark hair. That's the fun of writing AU fics. Ryou and Souma…I think I just finished re-watching Tsubasa Chronicles again. Well that's what you get for sitting for 24 hours in a car.

Character development is a very large part in this story. Why did I say this? I don't know. Maybe it's a mental note to myself that I must work on that in chapters to come. In reviewer responses this time, I don't think I have time to get to everyone. You know, my finals are coming up in less then a month (omfg!) so chapter 5 might be a little late. Stupid exams…

**_Chapter 5 – Case 2: Blue Castle All-Girls High School_**  
"_Ah," the silver haired man pulled out a brown folder tied with an elastic band. He removed it, and out slipped two smaller files. "Here they are. This one's yours, Sasuke, and this one is Sakura's." Both immediately began to leaf through the many papers. There were more then the last time.  
__The female's green orbs scanned the pages quickly, though they rested at the location. "Blue Castle? You **can not** be serious!" her tone was that of amazed. "That is the most prestigious all-girls' school this side of the planet!"  
__Sasuke, on the other hand, was fussing over another matter. "This mission lasts a month? I just went of one of those…"_


	5. Case 2: Blue Castle AllGirls High School

**AN: **Yes, yes. Update is finally here. God, exams are tough. I really should learn to study more then just the weekend before. Of course, the fact that I don't remember anything I learned at the beginning of the year also plays a part… (but really, who wants to remember math? Honestly…I probably did so horribly on that one.)

Again, long chapter. I didn't realize how long it was until near the end. Then I decided, "Okay! Time to wrap this up before I kill myself here." So that's what I did. (You must forgive the abrupt ending then…) so without further delay, here's the long awaited second case: chapter 5!

* * *

**Chapter 5  
Case 2: Blue Castle All-Girls High School**

Sakura sighed as she looked at her saddened reflection in the mirror. She grabbed a few ends of her straight dark hair. Well, they were sort of dark. The ends were still dark, but the top was starting to contrast. The mid-section of her hair was where the dye was becoming faded, so the hairs were an interesting shade of brown. 'I guess this is what happens when you dye your hair semi-permanent.'

It'd been a few days since her mission with Sasuke and that café. She'd caught wind that there was another mission ready for them since they'd finished, but some things still needed to be organized. Just recently she'd received a call from Kakashi, requesting her presence at his office in about five minutes from the current time.

She pulled her hair into a high bun, so it'd be hopefully less noticeable that way. The door automatically locked behind her as she set foot in the empty hall. Well, it should have been empty. "Bad hair day?" Tenten asked, smiling slightly, seeing how the subject affected her.

"Oh clam it please," she retorted. That made the brunette chuckle harder. "I'm serious. I'll never dye my hair again!"

"Okay, I believe you. Have fun on this new mission," she waved and wandered in the opposite direction as the other.

What had been the way to Kakashi's office? That was her thought as she pressed the down button on the elevator. Second floor, other set of elevators, in a maze of offices, if she recalled correctly. Sakura wondered what today's mission would bring her. Though, it still seemed slightly surreal, like she was playing a never-ending virtual-reality game.

Her feet wandered across the lobby and to the second set of elevators. Someone had said, "Good morning, Miss Sakura." Looking up, it wasn't someone who she recognized. Was she really becoming popular or something? She muttered a "Good morning" back to him, and continued on her way.

Finally reaching the second floor, she hummed a random tune as she tried to remember which ways Sasuke had turned when he'd first brought her to their superior. Left, then right, then right again…or was it left? Her feet automatically carried her there again. She knocked on the door labeled K. Hatake.

She rapped lightly on the door, which opened upon contact. Glancing inside, there was her superior, head on his desk fast asleep. There were still papers all around him including the floor. "Excuse me," she spoke, waking him with a start.

"Oh…sorry about that, Sakura. Come in, come in." He put the folder from atop his computer screen to the floor, and began searching for the case files. He really needed to organize these things better.

Sakura did exactly what happened last time, gently took the papers off a chair and placed them on the floor. Sasuke, who had wordlessly just walked in, simply pushed the documents to the floor, messing them from their already messy piles. Even knowing him 'personally' for just over a week, she could tell he had very little patience with such things.

"Ah," the silver haired man pulled out a brown folder tied with an elastic band. He removed it, and out slipped two smaller files. "Here they are. This one's yours, Sasuke, and this one is Sakura's." Both immediately began to leaf through the many papers. There were more then the last time.

The female's green orbs scanned the pages quickly, though they rested at the location. "Blue Castle? You **can not** be serious!" her tone was that of amazed. "That is the most prestigious all-girls' school this side of the planet!"

Sasuke, on the other hand, was fussing over another matter. "This mission lasts a month? I just went of one of those…"

"It can't be helped, so listen up both of you," Kakashi said with an unusual tone of superiority. This made both teens shut their mouths and focus. "There is one month until graduation at this school, so you must complete it before that time. Sakura will pose as a student, while Sasuke, you will be stationed at the all-boys school a block away. This optimizes closeness, yet keeps you two separated. Now, if you'll pull out some profiles…"

Sakura pulled out the first bio, her eyes firstly darting to the picture. It was the school photograph of a third year student, like herself. This one was blonde, with piercing dark orbs. Her name was Sabaku Temari.

"This is the student you must befriend, Sakura," he explained casually. She could hardly believe that someone so young was involved with an assassination group. "Relax, she isn't the target. We believe that it is her father, and possibly with the help of her younger brother, but that's uncertain of." The older man turned to the heir of the company. "You, Sasuke, will be keeping an eye on her twin brother, Kankuro. Remember that it's the younger brother that we're suspicious of. We need to take out the father, no matter what, though. He should be a key link in our mystery."

"Alright, leave it to us!" the current brunette clenched her fist in determination.

Behind the mask, the corners of his mouth upturned. "Good to hear. Try and report back as often as possible, okay?"

They were both dismissed soon after. "So tell me something," Sakura sparked up a conversation during the short elevator ride down, "how did you get me a place into the school? I've heard almost no one gets in."

"Connections," the Uchiha replied simply, "hurry and pack your things. We leave tomorrow morning." Before leaving, he remembered one important thing. "And again, don't ever take the pendant off, no matter what, now that we're separated."

Sometimes, Sakura swore he took missions way too seriously for his own good. "Yes, boss."

* * *

Her green eyes looked out the taxi window at the unfamiliar scenery. Her hands were folded on her lap, but sometimes moved to try and pull down the hem of her royal blue skirt. She'd never get used to wearing a uniform. The collar of her white blouse was also quite annoying, so she had left the top few buttons undone. 'Well,' she thought, 'now I don't have to lie to my parents saying I went to Blue Castle.'

Her gaze shifted to Sasuke, who was once again reading over the case files. It was like he never stopped until the mission actually started. He wore his new school's uniform, which consisted of jet-black pants and a white collared shirt, plus a back jacket (though he'd left that out for now).

She could faintly see her reflection in the window. Thankfully she'd managed to convince the hair people downstairs to dye her hair semi-permanent once again, this time matching her real hair color so when it faded, the difference wouldn't show. It was currently tied into a low ponytail.

The same feeling of nervousness that'd happened last mission had appeared in her stomach, as the immense school could be seen in the distance. It was Friday afternoon, so the students would be getting out earlier then most days. Sakura exhaled loudly, gaining the attention of the rather silent Uchiha.

"If you put on the same performance as last time, you'll be fine," he assured her, "and besides, you get used to it. The missions, that is."

"So…" she fiddled with the necklace, "you're never nervous before a mission, ever?"

For a moment, he stared wordlessly at the pink haired girl. He then put his attention back to the case files. "I am, usually. But I get over it."

So even Uchiha Sasuke was human, she couldn't help but give a small smile. Maybe he was starting to trust her a little bit. "One more thing," he added as the taxi began to slow down, "we should meet every other day. I hear there's a small coffee shop down the street. So tomorrow let's discuss some plans, make it at three."

The car was brought to a stop, and they both could see a man standing there. He was dressed quite formally, and was approaching the vehicle. That must have been the headmaster. "Three tomorrow. I'll see you then, Sasuke," she gave him a small smile (which he slightly scowled back at) and exited through her door.

"Welcome, you must be Miss Haruno Sakura. I am the headmaster of Blue Castle, Baki. As a good friend of the Uchihas, please don't hesitate to contact me, if you have a problem." There were two fang-like marks on the right side of his face, scars perhaps? A type of cloth, which was attached to the white hat he wore, covered the other half of his face.

Was it just her, or was he being overly helpful? She gave a quick look to Sasuke, who shrugged. Sakura went to the trunk of the car, and pulled out her rather small suitcase. She'd be wearing sets of uniforms (they'd so generously provided) most of the time so clothes weren't really a necessity. Most of her bag space was the laptop, since she refused to go anywhere without it, and hygiene things. "Err, right. Thanks, Sir."

She sighed, seeing that the car was now out of sight. This, was going to be one hell of a day. "So, first off, I'll show you to your room," the headmaster handed her a key. "Your roommate will be Sabaku Temari."

'Wow, how convenient,' she mentally drawled, but then again it made things sort of easier. "Wonderful," the teen tried to sound as enthusiastic as one could muster in her current situation.

"You should already have a copy of your schedule, plus a map and such to get around. I'm sure you've heard this, though, from other people." He received a nod, when they entered the building. The entrance hall was that of an upscale hotel. The ceiling was fairly high, a big crystal chandelier hanging with all its glory high above. There were three doorways leading into the school; the stone arches each intricately carved with complicated patterns. "This way to the dormitories."

The pink haired girl was starting to have some flashbacks. She could have sworn she lived through this exact procedure when her so said partner Uchiha Sasuke had brought her to his soon-to-be company. The headmaster was currently explaining something about the history of the school (Sakura was totally uninterested of course) as she continued to keep that photographic memory on.

"Ah, here we are," he spoke as the elevator slowed to a stop at the fifth floor. This was all too much like the setup of Sharingan. What could possibly have awaited her but a common room? A common room filled with people…or women, no less.

"Good afternoon, Headmaster," one of the students greeted, taking no notice of the new girl. Perhaps it was best that way. No attention here was a good thing. "Welcome to our school, newcomer." Oh well, Sakura had spoken too soon.

The headmaster continued with the greetings (yes, total déjà-vu) as he made his way along the living quarters. He stopped at the room labeled 507. He knocked on the door. A moment later, the clicking of the lock sounded, and the door opened. There stood the girl Sakura would have to _befriend_, Temari, in the flesh. "Good afternoon, Headmaster."

"Good afternoon," he replied back, moving slightly aside, so the two could get a good look at each other. "Your new roommate, Haruno Sakura."

The cherry haired girl could tell that the new smile upon the blonde's face had been forced. "I see. How nice."

"Well," Baki said with a rub of his hands, "I trust everything shall be in order now. I'll leave you two now. Have a nice evening, girls." With that, he took his leave.

As soon as he did, however, the smile instantly dropped from Temari's face. "Well? Are you going to stand there like an idiot all day?" Quickly, Sakura dragged her small suitcase inside, as the other closed the door. The interior of the room looked a lot like the standard hotel room did. There were two double beds, a closet, and some drawers below where the mirror stood.

"Um, nice to meet you," Sakura said, trying to break the ice, extending her hand.

Temari eyed it for a second, but that was about it. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now I want to go over some ground rules with you, alright?" Well, all right or not, the new girl didn't really have a choice in the matter. "Firstly, don't touch any of my things. Secondly, try and mostly keep on your half of the room. This is the first time I've had to share a room with someone since I came here. The others all moved out because they were all deluded bitches and thought I was some kind of alien." Sakura definitely hadn't thought that, but the girl was certainly unfriendly. "Thirdly…"

Sakura had a habit of not paying attention for so long. She pretended to listen now, wondering how she was supposed to work with a personality like this. She needed to inform Sasuke how sometimes 'convenient' wasn't really so convenient as it seemed. This was going to be a long month.

* * *

The original plan was to not draw a big amount of attention to her as humanly possible. Of course there would be some questions, her being the new student, but she really hadn't been expecting what had happened.

"So you still need to learn how to keep a low profile, huh?" spoke an uncaring Sasuke, as they sat at the counter of the small coffee shop. This had been their second meeting. "Well as long as it doesn't disrupt your chances of befriending the target it doesn't really matter."

As soon as she'd walked into first period class on Monday, she could sense the trouble that loomed in the air. She'd always heard that people from Blue Castle were excessively smart. That was the reason why people had paid such good money, was it not? That first class of hers had been a calculus class. Needless to say, she'd learned everything last year. So now she came off as a super-genius.

"I don't know. Temari seems kind of miffed. Then again, she was miffed the day I arrived," responded Sakura, taking a sip of hot chocolate. Apparently she'd been the smartest one by far until she'd shown up. So making a long story short, she was surrounded by a mass of people asking for tutoring in every single subject possible.

"Well work with it. Gain her trust, I don't know," Sasuke sounded irritated, staring at the coffee he had been stirring for quite some time with a cinnamon stick. "But we can't afford this man to slip through our fingers."

"Seems like an awful lot of trouble, though, don't you think?" the pink haired teen asked; though it was meant more as a remark then a question. "I mean, why not send someone to get him from his work office, like what we did with Aoi?"

He smirked slightly, which she noticed. "Well reading over the case files comes in handy with such pitiful questions, doesn't it? I'll clarify for you: he works through home." He added the last part for some extra amusement; well, as much amusement as one such as an Uchiha could get out of the whole situation, "And I don't think they'd be needing any more housekeeping staff."

"Thank you mister comedian. Focus on your own target before worrying about me please."

* * *

After a week of staying at the famous school, things hadn't gotten any better between Temari and her new roommate. At the rate this was going, they were never going to meet the father. So there the new girl lay, on her bed, skimming over her new mystery novel she was required to read for the summative project. She was actually more so listening to the conversation between the blonde roommate and one of her limited number of friends.

"I just don't get it," sighed the brunette, messing up her hair in frustration slightly. "I really shouldn't have waited until the last minute to get this database thing up. My teacher's going to kill me."

Temari continued to stare at the screen, trying to type in different things in one of the rectangular boxes, coming up with the same error message all the time. "Well you really shouldn't have asked me. I don't know much on computers, since I stopped after 9th grade. But I'll keep trying."

By the sound of it, it was a simple problem to fix, if you knew how to. Sakura didn't really know the difference between RAM and ROM last year. It wasn't until she'd begun to spend large amounts of time with Shikamaru that everything finally began to make sense. Information was very easy for her to absorb, after all.

"You think we should ask Chitose across the hall? I hear she's a computer whiz," the other girl said with another frustrated glance at the monitor of her laptop.

Temari shrugged. "Sure, I guess." They left the room without even a word to the pink haired girl. Actually, the friends of her roommate never usually said anything much to her.

Sakura looked down at the pendant; she wondered if Sasuke was listening to the silence now, or he was in classes still. Looking over, she noted that the laptop was still there, just waiting for someone to use it. Seeing as it couldn't hurt to try something out, she quickly navigated through to the design table, and typed in a few keys in the main column. That should work now, she thought with a small smile, and went back to reading her novel.

A few minutes later, three girls came back in, and the one called Chitose sat in front of the laptop. "So what kind of message to you get?" she asked in a soft voice, looking at the rather empty table.

"I don't know, type anything in, you'll see."

The so said computer whiz punched in a number and then the enter key. There was no error message. "It…all seems fine to me."

"What? How can that be? It wouldn't let me do this a second ago!" the brunette said in an astonished tone. It was like everything was working all of a sudden.

"You did that?" Temari's voice called, and at first Sakura wasn't aware she was being talked to. "Well, did you?"

She wondered slightly what the outcome of this would be. Things certainly couldn't get any worse, right? "Yeah, I did. You guys just left it there, so I thought I'd fix it myself. Sorry if you didn't want me touching it or something."

The two other girls looked at Temari, her current expression unreadable. "You know…I hate to say it, but…" a small grin began to tug at the corners of her mouth, "you're pretty cool, Sakura. New and weird, but cool."

If anything, she hadn't been expecting that comment. That greatly improved her chances, though. She must have done something right the past week. "Uh…thanks, I guess."

"Wanna tell me how you did it?" the one of the others asked eagerly.

The pink haired girl grinned, "Only if someone buys me a sub for lunch."

* * *

All things considered, not keeping a low profile wasn't as bad as it seemed in her head at the time. Despite her fierce exterior, Temari had turned out to be quite the interesting person. She was skilled at many things, such as multiple types (actually, almost any) sport, and had amazing artistic talent.

"Well, I don't really care, as long as the plan's still the same," Sasuke spoke, skimming over some world history notes. Even if grades weren't really an issue with the whole mission thing, he was always one to stay on top of things. That included tests on the Battle of the Falkland Islands.

There was still two weeks until the schoolwork would end for the senior year students, then it was onto graduation. Sakura reflected on how well she and her roommate had been getting along lately. In fact, she was even dragged to watch a dance class. The blonde was part of this extra-curricular show (though Sakura had found out it was only for extra credit she was doing this for) and after observing for a little while, had been invited to try a dance out herself. They'd been quite impressed with her gracefulness and had offered her an invitation for her to join them on that particular dance. She would have declined, had Temari not decided for her and humbly obliged.

"Yeah, so far so good," the pink haired teen sipped some of her ice cappuccino, trying to cool down herself after that long hour and a half of practice. "Though there's the concert later on in the summer. I don't know how that's going to work."

Her partner was silent, still looking over his neatly hand-written notes. "We'll see when the time comes." He was silent again, before finding something else to say. "But she's not suspicious of anything, is she?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke turned away from his notes, and gave the girl a slight smirk. "She doesn't wonder why you leave the premises every other day to see me?"

She gave a look back, in response to his smirk. "She doesn't know about you, sorry. I just say I'm going to meet someone from the school down the block. She raises her eyebrow and lets me go without question."

"I wonder why?" replied the stoic Uchiha, putting his belongings back in his bag. He got up out of his chair, and placed a hand gently on his partner's head. The words that exited his mouth, weren't something she expected to hear this soon, though. "You're doing well, Sakura." With that, he left her in the surprised state she was in.

* * *

It was a Thursday afternoon, and Sakura spent her spare period back in her room. She pulled out her new laptop, and opened up the database files she'd put together on the Sharingan employees. Most of the spaces were filled, minus those of some maintenance workers and the like. Hinata certainly was very useful when it came to helping her locate the files she needed throughout the company systems (however illegal that was, but it did help her organize things better).

It was interesting, how little people she knew, even in her division. The people at the top of the list were Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha, them being the presidents. The two vice presidents she had yet to meet, one by the name of Tsunade, a platinum blonde woman with a rather large chest. Her bio said she was in her early fifties, but she didn't look a day over thirty (judging by the picture attached). The second vice president had been in the corporation only within the past year, Hoshigaki Kisame. There was a rather interesting history about him, though there wasn't a whole lot of it. His bio explained that he was just over thirty, though his appearance…well, Sakura wasn't one to be mean. His skin reminded her of something she'd seen on those crime shows, where the body had been dead for awhile, giving off a grayish tint. His eyes looked beady, and the wrinkles at the side of his face made him look like some dried up shark.

Moving down the list some more, she found her supervisor, Kakashi, and his life history at the company. He'd been working there almost as long as she'd been alive. That was kind of scary. Everyone seemed to have an interesting little bit of information on them. So while she **had** been taken away from her home, her school, her friends, her life…this proved certainly as an interesting job. At least she was getting the rest of her education at this school.

She was so absorbed in her research, she failed to notice the opening of the door. "Hey, what have you got there?" Temari asked, leaning forward.

Sakura nearly jumped out of skin and forcefully closed the flip screen shut, turning it off immediately. "Oh…it's just you, sorry," she pushed some pink hair back, and turned her full attention to the blonde teen, who had an expression of something just short of a scowl.

"'Oh it's just you', she says. Who else would it be?" the both laughed for a bit. "Anyway, what are you doing this weekend?" The undercover teen looked up in a confused manner. "Hey, what's that look for?"

"Oh, sorry. And I'm not doing anything, why?"

The blonde scratched the back of her head, and looked away. "Well I was going to go home this weekend, and since you live out of town and all…thought we could have a sleepover type thing. With some of the others, of course." Their eyes met for a second, before Sakura started to laugh. "What?"

She managed to control herself after a moment. "You just don't seem like the type to say something like that. It was funny, okay?" Though, in her head, a new plan was forming. She was also mentally jumping for joy. This could shorten her mission by a good two weeks. Somehow, she hoped he was eavesdropping in on her at this moment. "But I haven't been to a sleepover in awhile. Sounds fun."

"Good. I wasn't really going to accept any other answer, Pinky." The green-eyed teen watched her roommate then go looking through her drawer for something. Now all that was left was to devise a strategy with Sasuke, and they'd be all set. Perhaps she'd find a way for him to sneak in…or… "By the way," Temari interjected, throwing a lavender shirt into a small duffel bag, "I wanted to leave tomorrow morning."

Well, that didn't really help. That meant she wouldn't have time to meet with him between now and her departure time. Maybe she'd give him a call, though while he was at school his cell never seemed to be on. Figures. That would have been way too easy.

* * *

In the short while of being at Blue Castle's school, Sakura almost forgot whoever went there also had the money to pay for it. At first she wondered how they were going to get there. Her question was soon answered when her roommate informed her that the limo was here. "Grace and Rika wanted to stop at home before coming over. They'll be there later."

Even though the pink haired girl had been in Uchiha Sasuke's limo before, the sent of fresh leather and the whole space of the car made her feel uncomfortable. Why was this such a stereotypical form of showing of wealth? To make matters worse, she had to keep inhaling the same sent for the next hour that it took to reach the Sabaku household.

Now was probably the most opportune time to construct a basic plan of action. She'd never managed to get a hold of Sasuke, and she only hoped that he'd been listening through her pendant. So what could she do without him there? Mr. Sabaku was a fully-grown man, most likely with multiple guards and security (she hadn't found out his real first name yet). This was quite sad indeed. She was helpless without her partner, though she'd never admit it out loud.

"Sakura," the blonde's voice cut into her thoughts. Her tone was quite serious. "Did you become my friend to meet my brother?"

This certainly proved interesting. "You mean Kankuro?" She'd met him on one occasion, when he'd come to check up on his sister. They'd exchanged greetings, nothing more.

"No, my younger brother, Gaara."

The best plan of action at this point was to feign innocence. "I didn't even know you had another sibling. You've never said anything about him before. Besides," she added with a smile, "I don't like to play people." Technically that wasn't a lie. She didn't like to play Temari for what it was worth either, though it was enforced by her new job.

Her roommate studied her face, trying to detect some sort of lie. "Well most people know," she said quietly, looking out the window. "Most people who try and get to know me only do so for chances to meet him. Kind of sad actually. That was really the reason I was bitter to you when we first met, so…sorry, alright?"

"No, we're cool. Totally." Sakura looked out her window at the unfamiliar city. It looked sort of like her hometown, though in a completely different area. "He must be quite a looker for that to happen then."

"Well I can't say that, because he's my brother and that'd be wrong. But I suppose so. Don't go falling for him now, or else I'm afraid I'll have to kick you out of the house."

"I'm sure," the pink haired girl chuckled, imagining something else, "but I've already got someone I…like." She trailed off near the end. Sensing the look she was getting from the girl on the opposite side of the car, she added, "No, it's no one you know."

The hour went by surprisingly fast, and before long, the limousine had pulled through an iron gated property. The house was one of the fairly larger ones that Sakura had seen in her lifetime. It was three stories high, and she was sure it continued forever length-wise. There was another limo, the exact duplicate of what they were currently riding in parked off to the side.

"Hmm," Temari spoke, as she opened the door herself before the chauffeur could come around. "Seems Kankuro brought some friends over too. Whatever…I'll show you around. Someone will bring your things later."

Right, Sakura remembered that this was the way of the rich. Someone else would always do it for you. She wordlessly followed the blonde hostess, however. The front foyer was exquisite, as expected. There were large pale tiles that lined the area, most likely marble. Though, she'd been expecting a large crystal chandelier, but the lights that were high on the ceiling held a modern touch, in abstract shapes. There was the spiraling staircase, however. Though it didn't turn the full 360 degrees.

"Hello? Are you coming?" the blonde asked, already partially through the main hall. The other came running up, and almost fell over from the slippery tiles. "Don't hurt yourself, kid."

"That sounds like my sister," a new voice popped up, belonging unmistakably to Kankuro. He came out of a room, still wearing his monochrome colored uniform. His hair was spiked up, as usual. At first glance, Sakura would have never been able to tell that the two of them were siblings. The only physical similarity she saw was the dark eyes. She had blond hair, he had a light brown. It really couldn't get farther apart.

"Yeah? Is that a problem?" his sister retorted, crossing her arms. They had gone onto slightly bickering about the matter, though the pink haired girl was more interested in her surroundings. No sign whatsoever of either Gaara or the father himself. Then she saw two other males walk out of the same door as the Sabaku boy had. She nearly did a double take at one of them. The familiar pose of hands stuffed into the pockets of the black uniform pants, which also matched the shade of his hair and eyes, and wore a slight, yet noticeable smirk. What in the world was Sasuke doing here?

"Right…" Kankuro spoke up again, "as to who's who. This is Sakura. Sakura, this is Akira and Sasuke. Got it? Good. Excuse us both for a minute, will you?" Sakura had now found the second trait the twins shared. They both didn't leave you any room to answer.

As the siblings walked away, the boy Akira was looking around with a bored expression played upon his rather round face. The two partners on the other hand had their own matters to discuss. "When you're good, it's relatively easy to be invited anywhere," the Uchiha spoke the answer to the unasked question. "Though, I don't think we could have asked for a better shot."

"Right," the pink haired girl nodded, "so what's our plan?"

"I'm not at that stage yet. Give me a little while and I'll have something, just watch." Both split from their brief conversation as the siblings came back. The blonde had motioned Sakura away from her brother's friends and they disappeared out of sight.

They'd gone to her room, which was about the size of Sakura's family room back at home. Rich people and their stereotypical enormous bedrooms… "Wow…it's so…big," she commented dumbly, looking around. Her belongings were already there, sitting in a corner. An idea struck her that might help her with the investigation. "Your father must make a lot of money to maintain such a nice complex."

"I guess so," the other replied, sitting down on her bed. It sunk partially under her weight.

"What does he do?" she tried to sound as curious as possible.

"Honestly? I don't know. He says he's in the marketing business but I doubt it. Probably some secret thing he doesn't want us to find out." She smiled, and chuckled quietly. "Sounds stupid, huh?"

"Not at all! I'd want to find out more if my parents were hiding a secret, you know? It's human nature."

"You think?" there was silence in the room, before a slight buzzing caught the pink haired teen off guard, making her jump. "Intercom system," she explained, and went to the small unit on the wall near the door. "What is it?" she asked into the box, and Sakura could hear some static sort of reply, but it was hard to hear from where she was. Though, Temari would shortly relay the message, "Dinner's ready."

On the way down from her room, she was memorizing the basic layout. From the room where she'd most likely be staying that night, there were a few more rooms down the hall, most likely either storage rooms and even possibly the other family members' rooms. Down on the first floor, she noted the place of the kitchen, where a housekeeping staff quickly bustled out, scurrying down the hall. The room she'd entered Sakura presumed was the dining hall.

"I'll go check on things," the hostess offered, and Sakura stood at the doorway. She spotted Sasuke who also noted her presence, and discreetly walked over.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," he told her in a barely audible whisper, "let's say 1 in the morning, we'll meet down at the kitchen. We can go to Kankato's chambers from there. I've put together some things that will make it easier to get away with this capture."

Sakura sighed, "You planned without me again. Figures. So you managed to find out this guy's name, the way to his room…are you a stalker?" Sasuke merely gave a look. "So tell me your secret item then."

The Uchiha bent down right up to her ear and whispered: "Chloroform."

"You're in the way," a new voice piped up. Both undercover teens jumped apart and turned to where another male stood. His hair was flaming red, which brought out his pale green eyes. His complexion reminded her of her anemic friend. This boy was certainly odd, seeing the dark circles around his eyes, he hadn't slept in awhile, and he seemed to be missing eyebrows (or if they were there, they were awfully faint). There was also a tattoo above his left eye; it was the Chinese character for 'love'. (She speculated getting that done must have hurt.)

"Sorry," the pink haired girl quickly sidestepped out of the way to let the boy pass. That must have been the younger brother, Gaara. The redhead had looked back at the two, giving them a suspicious glance, but continued on his way. "What are we doing about him?"

Sasuke frowned. There was something about the way he'd just looked at them that was bugging him. "Nothing. He isn't our priority right now. Stick to the plan."

They'd been called in by Kankuro, who became silent as he took a seat to the right of the place setting at the head of the table (presumably for Sabaku Kankato). Temari was opposite him, (Sakura took the place beside her) and the rather mysterious Gaara sat at the other end of the rather large mahogany table.

The room held it's deathly silence until one of the doors opened, revealing a middle aged man, with chestnut hair. If any of the siblings hand inherited the image of the father, it was definitely Kankuro (a similarity in the name perhaps said that too). Though, the aura he gave off and the penetrating kind of eyes had been passed down to the youngest sibling. "Father," the twins both stood up and bowed slightly, though the youngest did nothing. In fact, he didn't even spare a glance.

The actions didn't go unnoticed by either Sasuke or Sakura, though they needn't have made eye contact to sense exactly what the other felt at this. "That's enough, sit both of you," he spoke in a raspy voice, and didn't even mention anything to the guests as he sat down at his designated setting.

The dinner was served and eaten quietly. No one spoke, not even the twins to their guests. After dinner they'd quietly mumbled something to the head of the household before motioning for their visitors to follow. When they'd parted, Sakura couldn't help but comment, "That was a bit…awkward."

"I know, though, I'm used to it by now," scowled the blonde teen, as they once again made for the stairs. "Where are those two?" she mumbled to herself, "they should have been here by now…"

"Temari?" Sakura stopped near the top step, a look of utter seriousness rested upon her features; "do you…hate your father?"

There was a silence for a little while, before the other looked away. "I don't know."

* * *

One thing Sakura had forgotten to take into account about a sleepover, was the fact that the 'sleep' part never really played a big factor in the matter. Currently she sat completely silent, the talking of the others just some random noises in the background. She hoped Sasuke was having an easier time getting away then she was. She mentally shrugged off the thought, seeing he **never** needed help.

It was five minutes to one at this point. "I'm so darn hungry," the pink haired girl said, standing up and brushing off imaginary dust off her baggy T-shirt and loose sweats she was using as sleepwear.

"Have some chips then," Rika piped up, handing her the clear bowl filled with the crisp potato snack.

"Um, no thanks," she declined, now thanking herself for taking improvisation as a class last year, "I mean I'm **really** hungry. You don't mind if I look through your fridge, do you?"

"Nope, go right ahead. I'll show you where—"

"Photographic memory," Sakura tapped her head and gave a wink, "I know where it is. Be back in a little bit." Her bare feet felt cold against the floor in the darkened hallways. As her legs carried her to the destination once again, she began to formulate a way to get out of the premises. That was easier said then done.

Instead of walking down every single step (like she had about five times that day already), she sat on the banister and slid down, her pink hair flapping behind. "Well that was certainly interesting," commented a voice she recognized as belonging to Sasuke.

"No, it was just convenient," she corrected, and then got straight to the point, "anyway, let's get this show on the road. Oh yeah, just before we do…where are you getting chloroform?"

Though it was rather dark where they stood, she could see him pull a tiny bottle from his back pocket, along with a dry white cloth. "I always travel with one. Just in case."

The pink haired girl followed cautiously behind her partner, as they entered upon an unfamiliar wing of the mansion. "You really scare me sometimes, you know…" she informed him. The Uchiha chuckled lightly in amusement.

It was that same feeling she got when the climax of the capture happened at the café a good few weeks ago. Even though the air was no different, she found it still harder and harder to breathe. 'I can do this. I'll show him again that I'm capable of doing this,' she mentally cheered herself on, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Here," he whispered, tilting his head toward a closed door. How he knew was beyond her, but if there was one thing she'd learned about him, it was to never have him underestimated. He'd been doing this far longer then she, after all. "Take this, you're quieter so you do it."

"Thanks," she said accepting it, "though I don't know if I should be happy or annoyed that I'm doing the dirty work." The air became tense again; this time it went noticed by both teens. They turned and caught sight of a figure: Sabaku Gaara. "Oh…my God…" she breathed out. That was that. They were dead.

"What are you two doing?" he asked in a drawling voice, his arms folded loosely across his chest. None of them answered. There was more silence. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Sakura was about to come up with an excuse as to why they were at the place they were, but her partner beat her to it. "We believe your father is part of a top-secret organization of assassins, and we're going to need some information from him. So leave us be," the Uchiha spoke calmly but it never lacked a sound of assertiveness. She was quite surprised he was revealing his precious secret.

Judging by the look of mild surprise that flickered across the redhead's usual deadpan face, so was he. "True as it may be, I still can't let you get at my father without a fight." The raven-haired teen automatically reached behind him, then remembering he hadn't brought a firearm with him for this mission. Gaara noticed his actions, and a minuscule smirk formed upon his mouth. "You don't need to use barbaric weapons like guns here." He cracked his knuckles.

"Sakura, hurry up and go," hissed her partner, stepping in front of her. She was hesitant. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

Sakura quickly brought the sleeve of her T-shirt to her forehead, removing the sweat. Then her hands reached backward and fumbled with the doorknob until it opened. "Don't you dare!" the younger Sabaku tried to reach for the girl, only to be stopped by Sasuke.

"You forget, your fight is with me, not her." He'd managed to summon up a boost of energy and push the other back. Gaara lost his footing for a moment, but did a type of handspring to regain his balance. With a quick look back, both noted that Sakura had now gone. "Now, Shorty, let me see what you've got."

Once Sakura had entered the room without a peep, she shut the door with equal care. She turned around slowly, observing the dark room. The moon shone through the open window, letting the light in slightly. There against the wall to her right, was a large bed. She decided it best to douse the cloth with the liquid now, so that this could be over quickly.

She'd studied the effects of chloroform in chemistry class last year. It was composed of carbon, hydrogen, and three chlorine atoms, so in class she'd used the name trichloromethane. Unlike the simple render-the-victim-unconscious substance that the movies portrayed it as, it was actually quite harmful if not handled properly. In fact, too much of it could even kill a person. On the contrary, more then two drops would be needed, if the compound were to work on depressing the nervous system to the point of unconsciousness.

She folded the cloth four times, and spilt most of the contents onto it. Hopefully that would have soaked through all the material. She blew some pink hair out from her face, and took baby steps towards the target. There was a creak under her foot. Oh…crap. Her emerald eyes gazed downward, and she cursed. It was a hardwood floor.

There was movement from the bed, and she quickly (but silently of course) dropped to the floor, and rolled to the edge of the bed. If Kankato awoke, he wouldn't be able to see her right away like that. Her breathing was soft, though her heart was racing. 'I can do this…'

Sakura listened to a new noise that was barely audible. It wasn't from the hallway outside where the two males had been, but rather from the window. Things were officially getting creepier then they already were. Though the bed was blocking her view of the window, she could feel another presence other then the target and her own.

It seemed as though the head of the Sabaku household was aware of this as well (though if he noticed her had yet to remain said), as she watched him grab a knife that was so conveniently stationed on the nightstand.

The silence was killing her. There were two people aware of one another, though no one was doing anything. Sakura wasn't willing the risk of being cut (or worse) now that he was armed. The cloth needed to remain to his face for a good five, if not ten seconds before unconsciousness seeped in.

"I'm impressed," she'd recognized that voice as Kankato's, who now sat up (and was most likely smirking) at whoever was standing by the open window. "Though I don't expect you're armed. The gates and fences are equipped with metal-detecting sensors. The alarms would have rang, had you brought in something."

"Please don't put me on the same level as those who chose to hide behind mechanical weapons," spoke another familiar voice. She recognized it as Rock Lee. What in the world was he doing here? "Though I must admit, you have pretty tight security for a marketing specialist."

"I knew you'd people be coming after me soon. I've heard about Aoi, and the others. It's unfortunate that you were sent to fetch me, because I have no intent of going anywhere." With that, he rose to his feet on the other side of where the teen girl lay perfectly still.

"I really don't want to fight you," Lee explained. His dark eyes wandered around the room, and noticed Sakura (who'd stuck her head out for a better look at things). He realized the plan based on the phone call they'd received from the heir to the company earlier. "But, I suppose if you don't want to come quietly…"

"Enough talk!" spat the older man, raising the knife high, and pointing it threateningly at his unwelcome visitor. "You don't faze me the least."

From what the pink haired girl could tell, Lee's face never changed. "That's quite dangerous. Please put that down." In a split second, Rock Lee had kicked the knife clear from the target's hands. It went sliding across the floor completely out of reach. Then with the same foot, he delivered a forceful blow to the other's stomach, sending him backwards and crashing to the floor. "Sakura!"

That was her signal, and in an instant had placed the damp cloth over Kankato's mouth and nose. The man glared with sharp dark eyes, cursing that he hadn't heard her enter. Though his hands had managed to find her neck (which caught her off guard). "Da…mn…" she managed to breathe out. He sure as hell was stubborn.

"Sakura!" Lee had called out rushing over to help. Though the chloroformed cloth was beginning to take effect, faster then his attempt at strangulation. Within another few seconds, the body had gone completely limp. "Are you okay?"

"Fine…" she replied, rubbing the front of her neck with one hand. "But thanks for coming in, Lee. I don't know what I would have done otherwise."

"Think nothing of it," he replied, giving her a thumbs-up, "it's my job. Speaking of which, Tenten and Neji should have taken care of things by now. But I need to get this body out of here. Take care." With ease, he lifted the rather large body over his shoulders, and proceeded to the balcony. She sort of wondered how he'd get down with the extra weight.

She slowly opened the door and observed the scene in front of her. On one side was the three Sabaku siblings, on the other, the three Sharingan employees. Tenten was on one knee, her hand on her stomach. The others looked fine, for the most part.

Gaara was the first to notice the return of the pink haired teen. "I guess that's it then." Everyone turned to the ajar bedroom door. "Temari, Kankuro," he spoke. The twins looked at their younger brother. "There's no need to fight anymore. Stop."

"But…Gaara!" the blonde sibling tried to cut in, to no avail.

"Just stop." Everyone looked at each other.

* * *

"Thanks so much for the hospitality…even after what happened," Sakura bowed slightly at the three siblings that next morning. The others had gone home already, so only she and Sasuke were left. "Sorry for the, um, confusion this caused also."

"Ah, you don't need to apologize for everything you know," Temari shrugged, looking in another direction, "it couldn't be helped, right?"

"Sakura…" her partner nodded in the direction of the car that had just pulled up to the gate.

"Okay, give me a second." Her emerald orbs observed him walking towards the car, her belongings and his slung over his shoulder. She turned back to the others, and directed the comment at her former roommate (now that the target was captured, there was no reason to attend the school anymore). "But you know, you might think I became friends with you just to capture your father, but it's not totally like that. I thought we were friends, even for a short time."

The other female gave a sort of smile. "Well, you weren't so bad yourself, kid. Though, I suppose this means we'll need to find someone to replace you, for your spot in that routine, huh? The one in 6 weeks."

Sakura gazed back to the Uchiha, who was over talking to the driver. "I'll work on him. So don't count me out just yet." She took out a slip of paper from her jean pocket, "Keep in touch." With that she went over to join her partner, and they left shortly after that.

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Kankuro spoke when they were out of earshot, "why'd you let them all go? They did technically kidnap Father…"

"Father was very smart and very cautious," the redhead mused, keeping his eyes on the vehicle that was slowly making its way into the distance, "but I didn't like what he was doing the slightest. But he **was** in the marketing business."

"So, you knew about this Akatsuki whatnot, and you never said anything to us?" asked the slightly ticked off sister. "So then why'd you fight that Uchiha kid?"

"If there was the chance that he were to escape the little trap they'd set, then I needed to show some support for him, didn't I? It's complicated…" Gaara frowned, looking at both his older siblings, "but the reason behind me not trying, was because I have been looking for months now of a way to get rid of him. So I guess it worked out both ways. Perhaps I'll explain it better one day."

"So that's why you let them go," Kankuro replied, still not getting half of what his brother said, but shrugged the matter off. "Whatever, it's your decision, bro."

* * *

The car ride was silent for the first little while; Sakura having her hands folded in her lap, Sasuke scrutinizing her with a slight frown. "You didn't get hurt, did you?" he finally managed to ask, fingering the red marks on her neck, that were still slightly visible from the night before.

"Really, I told you I'm fine."

"Well I just don't want Kakashi on my case about this," he said, the annoyance present in his voice, "because that info goes straight to the top, and it's my head they'll sever." She chuckled slightly, seeing his scowl deepen. He was funny in his own little way sometimes. The silence returned, though she was getting better at keeping it. She knew her partner was not one to talk for the most part, unless something was bothering him, or he had some sly comment to make. "So…" though his face was in the opposite direction, she could see the smirk creeping up the corners of his mouth through the reflection of the glass. This looked like one of those sly comment times. "Earlier while you were talking to that blonde girl, you mentioned something about liking someone else. That wouldn't happen to be myself now would it?"

Sakura never needed to turn her face from her window to tell that he was now looking in her direction again. Glass windows were indeed a wonderful tool. "Right, you wish. Only if you want me to, though. When you say it, then I might consider 'liking' you."

"Now who's the one dreaming?"

* * *

**Additional AN**: Yay, 14 pages later it's finished! Fear not, though! The Sand sibs shall be back! What **is** Gaara's father's first name? I don't think they ever say…simply just call him Kazekage. Oh well. What is Gaara's relation in this whole thing? Why did he know about Akatsuki? Mwahaha! I shall never tell until the time is right. More chapters, more questions. Tis what I love about mystery stories! Nothing makes sense until the very end! (Or…close to the end anyway.)

Someone pointed out about some odd spelling at times. I'm Canadian, so some words are spelt differently. But, for making MS Word happy, I'll use American spelling. Someone tell me when I go back and forth, since I tend to do that at times.

On a completely random note: I need a new song to listen to. I rarely add to my playlist, so if anyone really likes a song (whatever language it may be) recommend it to me! Okay, I shall shut up now and give you a preview of case number 3…

_**Chapter 6 – Case 3: The Delivery Man**_  
_Sakura had about a day's rest before came the message that a new mission was ready for them to tackle. Sasuke complained a lot about the tasks being so close together, and after experiencing them now, she didn't exactly blame him. Though, she sucked it up, remembering it was for a good cause. Two lives would be lost, if they didn't go and capture the members of the Akatsuki organization.  
__She was rather surprised to see both Sasuke and Naruto walk in together into Kakashi's office. She was already there, once again waking her superior from slumber. (Sometimes she worried if he was an insomniac.) It turned out that this mission would be a threesome. It would take place at a dojo about two hours north of where they were. Both boys were going to pose as temporary martial arts instructors for intermediate level kids (since this was a summer thing). Sakura, who'd never done any sort of self-defense training, was put in charge of the small children, who were just starting out.  
__The founder and head instructor of the dojo, Kimimaro (there was no last name) was an average height man, with rather long platinum blond hair to the point where it almost looked white. He also looked deathly pale, though apparently he suffered from a rare case of anemia. That was why he was hiring some instructors for the summer, since the illness restricted his movements greatly._


	6. Case 3: Delivery Man

**AN: **Um, yes. My hands hurt. This is the longest chapter I have ever written in my life. Period. Never again. And you wonder why it took three weeks. It wasn't until I looked back after I'd finished it and realized it was 18 full pages. Anyway, shall keep it short here so you can read.

* * *

**Chapter 6  
Case 3: Delivery Man**

With a slight yelp, Sakura fell backwards to the floor. In front of her, the brunette simply sighed. This training was going nowhere. If she could hardly block a kick without falling over, just how was she supposed to teach martial arts? "Okay, let's…try this again," Tenten extended her hand so that the other could get back on her feet. "Maybe you just have the wrong state of mind."

"You're telling me," spoke the green-eyed girl, as she hastily retied her hair. "Or maybe I'm not cut out for this stuff."

"But it's your mission. You need to learn how to teach this stuff in a few days."

Sakura had about a day's rest before came the message that a new mission was ready for them to tackle. Sasuke complained a lot about the tasks being so close together, and after experiencing them now, she didn't exactly blame him. Though, she sucked it up, remembering it was for a good cause. Two lives would be lost, if they didn't go and capture the members of the Akatsuki organization.

She was rather surprised to see both Sasuke and Naruto walk in together into Kakashi's office. She was already there, once again waking her superior from slumber. (Sometimes she worried if he was an insomniac.) It turned out that this mission would be a threesome. It would take place at a dojo about two hours north of where they were. Both boys were going to pose as temporary martial arts instructors for intermediate level kids (since this was a summer thing). Sakura, who'd never done any sort of self-defense training, was put in charge of the small children, who were just starting out.

The founder and head instructor of the dojo, Kimimaro (there was no last name) was an average height man, with rather long platinum blond hair to the point where it almost looked white. He also looked deathly pale, though apparently he suffered from a rare case of anemia. That was why he was hiring some instructors for the summer, since the illness restricted his movements greatly.

"You just need a new approach. Then this'll become easy for you," after giving it a moment's thought, an idea hit the brunette. "You like to dance, right?" They were in the on of the downstairs rooms, which served as a multi-purpose type facility. Tenten pressed the play button on the CD player, and the first dance beat filled the room.

"I don't really get it…" Sakura said, nodding her head to the familiar tune.

"Just dance. Improvise." The other did as she was told. "Good, now I'm going to come at you. Block me." She went in for a kick, and Sakura sidestepped, still moving her feet to the music. There was a punch, which the pink haired blocked successfully, and continued with the routine.

"Oh my God…I'm totally getting this now!" she exclaimed happily, as she twirled once, and kicked once like Tenten had showed her. She continued the suit, and tried to get her moves more like the crisp ones her temporary sparing partner was using. Though, in evading a kick some time later, the petal haired girl spun on one foot, and wasn't able to stop again. She fell. "Oww…"

The brunette sighed again. "Well, it's a start. We **do** have a couple more days for you to figure it out."

* * *

Truthfully, after the hour train ride and now this, the three of them just wanted to get out of the stuffy vehicle. They were all squished in the back of a taxi (that way it'd look less conspicuous) since their bags didn't all fit in the trunk, and they were forced to put some in the front seat. Sakura being the smallest sat in the middle, arms pressed up again her sides, since she didn't want to bother her male companions. Naruto was looking out the window, quietly for once. He'd used up all his talking on the train ride. Sasuke was again going over the case files.

Every single mission he did that. It was really getting to her, for some reason. It was so silent that every time he turned the pages, it gnawed at her patience. Flip…flip…flip… "Oh. My. God. Cut that out! It's driving me insane," she finally said through her teeth.

Sasuke stopped leafing through the papers and looked at his female partner through the corner of his eye. "Aren't we wound up tightly today? But I'd rather have a plan then go there with nothing."

"What's there to plan?" the blond piped up, "I mean, all we need to do is switch the ring, and we get them both with one shot, right?"

The specifics of the mission differed slightly from the other two. Kimimaro was not a part of the Akatsuki organization. Though he would receive a package that contained something for a 'friend' of his, who most likely happened to be a part of the notorious group.

They'd learned some things about the Akatsuki from Kankato, though he said nothing about names of any sort. Within the organization, there was a head. Underneath him were heads of smaller groups that went about doing their particular task. The leader was not seen by anyone, other then the heads of the smaller groups. They were distinguished only by the rings they each wore. They had them all on different fingers, each bearing a different Chinese symbol. Kimimaro was apparently one of the several people who delivered a new ring every time a new assassination had to occur. So basically speaking they were hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

"As simple as it sounds, I'm sure it'll be much harder," Sasuke said, giving Sakura a glare and continued at the page where he stopped. "These aren't amateurs. Besides, we're going to be around kids for most of the time, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto put on a pouting face, "I hate putting up with kids. Especially those who think they know more then you. How annoying…"

"How you hastily forget, Naruto. All but a year ago you were still an annoying brat who thought you were better then everyone else," commented Sasuke dryly, though it seemed like he was taunting him.

"Arg! How dare you speak to me like that?"

"Both of you stop it! I'm regretting breaking the silence now!" Sakura pushed both their heads away, since they'd leaned in the middle to glare at each other. They were a little too close for comfort. Though, she did find it rather amusing, their bickering. They looked like they hated each other, but she'd rarely seen her partner show his emotions so openly like that. Who else could do that better then his best friend? "You guys weren't giving me any air!"

"Sorry, Sakura," the blond apologized with a goofy grin and went back to staring out the window, but now was vaguely thinking of a plan.

The raven-haired one went back to studying his papers. He could sense the glare that his female partner was giving him, but it didn't even make him flinch. He'd got to the end of the package yet again, and went back to the front. He grabbed the pen that he'd attached to his folder, and started to write. Curiously, the pink haired girl looked over a little further. Sasuke was plotting some things on a type of map. The area didn't look like anything familiar. "What's that?" she gave into the temptation of wondering.

He set the pen down and looked at his partner with a smug expression. "Suddenly interested?"

Her mouth opened slightly, but no words actually came out. "Leave her alone, Uchiha," Naruto stepped in once again, defending her. Those two argued like there was no tomorrow. It was amazing, actually. "She just asked a question."

"Why don't you mind your own business, Uzumaki?" he sneered back. Everyone felt like this would be a long mission. Thankfully for them, the dojo was just ahead, down the slope. They were in a forest-filled area, which the highway looked down upon. It looked like a relatively large building, and despite how it was made with wood, looked slightly out of place. It was the only structure around the lake.

They were all slightly relieved when a good five minutes later (and after a series of twists and turns down dirt roads) they were standing outside the walls of their new temporary home. "Wow…" Sakura could only say, getting a better look at the place. It was built in the traditional style, with sliding shoji paper doors. There was an extension added on just recently, by looking at the outside of it, which was probably a bathhouse. Kimimaro was most likely a traditionalist. Over on the lakeside of things, there was only one walking path leading into the forest, and the other was the road back up to the highway.

"Amazing, isn't it?" a new singsong kind of voice said from behind. Pushing up his large round glasses from the bridge of his nose, was a man of about thirty. He was rather tall, with platinum hair, which almost looked white. It was tied loosely back. He gave a small smile. "You three must be Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Welcome, I'm Kabuto, another instructor for the summertime. Pleased to meet you." They shook hands briefly. "Kimimaro's resting up for when the kids arrive tomorrow, so I was sent to greet you. I presume you want to be shown your room."

They'd picked up their things, and Kabuto opened the main shoji door to the inside. There was a small opening, then the second door, which lead into the main hall. The floors were polished to perfection, and the bright lights on the ceiling reflected strongly off them. "Um, room?" Sakura asked, as she looked around the inside.

"Yes, room," Kabuto looked back and gave another smile, "it's where people sleep."

The pink haired girl sighed, but decided not to lose her temper with a guy she'd just met. They veered to the right, where the sleeping quarters were. If they went left, they'd end up in one of the many practice halls. There were a few halls that branched off, most likely the pupils' rooms. "I think she was referring to the single term, room," Sasuke frowned as he spoke.

The platinum man stopped in front of a shoji door against the right side of the wall. "I know what she meant." He turned to the petal haired girl, "Sorry if I offended you. I was just teasing. Anyway, yes, a single room. You don't have any objections, I presume, with sharing? It's pretty big."

He slid the door open, and revealed the inside of the room. There were three single beds, two closets, and another (this time real wood door) to the washroom. Along the back wall was a bay window. "None taken," she told him, and was the first to enter. Her two male partners came in after, but the other stayed outside. "Thanks, Mr. Kabuto."

"Dear me, don't be so formal," he laughed with a wave of his hand, "just Kabuto is fine. We're peers, after all." He paused and looked through those big rimmed glasses with an unreadable expression. "I'll leave you three alone for awhile. Please take the rest of the day to tour the dojo." He slid the door shut and his footsteps lead away.

"He was…odd…" Naruto finally said, dropping his things with a thud on the ground. "But, it is a nice place. Certainly better then the last mission I was one awhile ago." He went over to the first bed and fell back. He flinched, "Okay, so the beds can use some new springs."

They spent some time unpacking. Sakura had the bed opposite the other two (the Uchiha wanted it that way) and managed to get one of the closets to herself. Sasuke would sleep near the window, and that left the other for Naruto.

"Think we should tour around?" the blond broke the long silence. The other two just shrugged.

* * *

The undercover trio didn't meet the head of the dojo, Kimimaro until breakfast the next morning. Just like his picture, he was extremely pale, and one could see his cheekbones if they looked hard enough. He didn't say much about welcoming them, just expected them to carry out their duties. He did ask one thing, though. "Where's the other trainer that was supposed to be here?"

Kabuto took the liberty of answering. "My deepest apologies, Sir. I forgot to tell you that he called yesterday, not being able to attend, due to a broken arm."

"Che." The dojo owner looked down upon the three new instructors. Then he turned his attention back to Kabuto. "You'll be in charge of his students then." He simply bowed his head in response. "As for you three, I expect there's no complaints about the arrangements outlined in the schedules you got yesterday."

"No, Sir," they replied simultaneously, looking at each other as they spoke in synch. Both males frowned at each other, and then went back to calmly eating their bowl of steamed rice. The owner wordlessly got up from the table and left the room, the ends of his kimono fluttering behind.

"You three had better dress yourselves," the platinum instructor said, placing his chopsticks inside the empty bowl, "the students will be here soon." He was already dressed in the pure white training kimono, his black belt fastened securely around his waist.

"Right," Sasuke replied for the three, and they also placed their finished bowls down. Through one of the many doors around the staff dining area came a sort of maid (whom was always around somewhere) and quickly picked up the five empty dishes and hurried back out of sight.

Back in the room after they were all changed, Sakura took another look at the list. She had about ten students; only one was a girl. She fingered her black belt carefully, silently laughing at how far away she actually was from that level. She tied her hair high up in a bun, and exited the room, where Sasuke and Naruto were waiting. "Let's go wait at the front," she said in a cheery tone, and set off without them. The blond hurried to catch up, and that left the Uchiha standing there.

He pulled a dark hair from his head, and placed it carefully between the paper door, and its frame. He still didn't trust anyone, especially here.

* * *

Sakura stared at the 10 pairs of eyes that were in the room with her. All her students sat on their feet, not making so much as a squeak. Martial arts wasn't just about self-defense, but also about discipline. Though, it seemed this bunch of 6-8 year olds were plenty behaved already.

"Good morning, guys," she paused at the figure at the end of the line of pupils, "and girl. Nice to meet you. My name is Sakura."

"Good morning, Sakura-sensei," the ten of them said in unison, which was kind of scary.

She wasn't expecting such an uptight bunch of kids, especially at this age. They reminded her of little Sasukes. That thought was even scarier. "Listen, this class is about discipline, but if you don't have fun, what kind of summer camp would it be?" Their faces remained solid, for the most part, but they began to look at one another. "Okay, have it your way. Shall we start?"

She got up, and surveyed the room, which had been assigned to her. She could do what ever she pleased with it, since no other group would be using it. She had been planning for the whole morning how to start a class. It was supposed to be introductions, but this bunch didn't seem up to that. Maybe some goals. "Actually, before that, does anyone have a goal they'd like to share?"

After a moment's pause, one boy named Kai (she'd memorized their names from the list in an instant) raised his hand slowly. "I…want to become better then my brother, who's in the advanced class."

Sakura smiled gently. "That's quite a goal, but not something that'll come overnight. In fact, it won't happen during your time here. But if you keep at it, you definitely become strong." She saw a small smile flutter across his face, though he then tried to hide it. Kids were so cute at that age.

Once a few more goals were said aloud, she decided to see what they knew, which wasn't much, thankfully for Sakura. When it came to teaching, she just had to remember what Tenten had taught her. Perhaps she'd try the musical approach. She went over to the stereo and popped in a disc. "Now, one could think of this like a dance." She saw some of the boys scowl, but the only girl, Chica, seemed interested. "Really, it's fun. Just give it a try."

* * *

Much like Sakura's class, the students in the next room under the command of Uchiha Sasuke sat dead silent, and awaited his directions. They were a group of 9-12 year olds, all males, with hard stares. These were his kind of pupils. This type of behavior would make his job a hell of a lot easier.

"It goes without saying," he finally spoke up, slowly eyeing each one of them, "that my rule is the law. Being at an intermediate level, it's expected that you catch on quickly, and don't slow others down. If you have a question, do not hesitate to ask, but please make sure it is logical and well thought out or it'll be disregarded. Other rules are standard when it comes to martial arts and I don't think I need to elaborate on it anymore then I must. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sasuke-sensei," the eight students replied instantaneously. Some of the younger students hadn't quite gotten some of the words he'd said, but it was best to agree with it.

The raven-haired instructor frowned slightly, at the sound of his name combined with 'sensei'. It just didn't sound right. That was most likely a sign he should never teach kids after this mission ever again. Well, for now, he'd just have to live with it.

One thing he knew, though, about teaching, was that one needed to gain the respect of the students'. He found that easier if they either feared him, or idolized him in some way. "You," he pointed to one in the middle, and motioned for him to stand, "what's your name?"

"Tamaki Akira, Sensei," he replied curtly. The boy looked like one of the oldest in his class.

"Well, Akira, to start things off, I thought I'd start off with a small demonstration. They did teach you the three components, did they not?" There was a nod. "Enlighten the class then."

He inhaled deeply, and recited, looking upwards. "Kihon, the first, and they are the basics: moves, and components. Then there's kata, which is a series of moves, but they didn't go into that one deeply, Sensei. Lastly there's kumite, which is sparing."

Sasuke nodded his head. He had learned how to fight since as long as he could remember, so all this came back as a sort of nostalgia, when he was that age. "Okay. Let's review gohon kumite." This type was what beginners tended to do, but could also work for the intermediates as well. (This kind of sparring is where the attacker calls out the kind of attack he'll use, and then repeats it five consecutive times.)

The other students watched Akira and their teacher get into position. The boy had his fists clenched. "Ura mawashi-geri." He came rushing towards his instructor, and left just in front of him, his heel pointed inward. The Uchiha was somewhat surprised that he could do that kick, usually called a hook kick, though he must have learned the Japanese terminology with his previous teachers. The boy was nowhere near tall enough that the kick would ever reach his teacher's head, but he blocked nonetheless. The student came back a second time, with the same outcome. He tried the third, the fourth, and finally the fifth, Sasuke did a defensive move back, catching his foot with one hand and giving it a little twist. Akira fell backwards.

"You may return to your seat," he said coolly, watching his student get up, and rubbing his lower back. His eyes were downcast the entire time. "Now, during your stay here, there is no way you'll be able to block so easily, as I did. Though what Akira just displayed to you was an excellent use of a hook." The child's eyes looked back up again, though Sasuke was not looking back. "I trust that you all will give 110 percent of your mentality and energy at this sport."

"Yes, Sensei!"

* * *

Naruto was also stuck with a handful of 9-12 year olds, staring at him like some animal at the zoo. He, of course, had no experience teaching anything before, so it would be interesting to see how things turned out. They seemed like an obedient bunch, he observed as he was talking, explaining them his rules. "Thirdly, what I say goes! If I say: leave the room, you'll leave the room. If I say: give me 50 push-ups, you'll give me 50 push-ups. If I say to put your life on the line, you **will** put your life on the line!"

Yes, they seemed obedient, except for this one little man, talking to two of his friends, a girl, and one kid with glasses. "You!" the blond pointed a finger at the brunet student, "Stand up. What's your name?"

With a sigh, the short child rose to his feet, his arms folded plainly across his chest. "The name's Konohamaru."

"Well then, Konohamaru, tell your peers what three rules I just outlined."

"I can't," he said simply, earning a disapproving glance from his teacher, and some quiet murmurs throughout the other nine students. "I wasn't listening so I can't recite it and I won't because I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"Well I hate to tell you, squirt, but you're already making a fool of yourself. You can't walk in here like you know everything when you don't. Perhaps someone else can explain."

With an irritated kind of sigh (which so scarily reminded the blond of one of Sasuke's) he sat back down, mumbling something, which much to his dismay, his teacher caught. "I don't even know why I'm here in the first place. My grandfather's the best of the best. Why he didn't just teach me, I don't know."

"AH!" Naruto let out a frustrated yell, startling everyone in the room. He knew this was a bad idea from the start. Maybe Lee should have gone instead. No, he would do this. But how, but **how**? He walked over to the back of the room, where a plank of wood was set up between two holders. Frustrated, he upturned his palm, and jammed it into the wood, successfully splitting it in half. "Ah…" he said again, this time in part pain. He was never really good with palm strikes.

"Did you see that?" the kid with glasses said, pushing them higher onto his face, "he split that thing in two, with his palm!"

The rest of the class seemed equally as impressed (being at the level that they were), and even Konohamaru seemed sort of awe-struck. Naruto turned back to his students, wearing a determined expression. "You may not be able to break a slab of wood by the end of this, but I guarantee you'll get stronger. But for that to happen you need to believe in yourself, and me. I can't do this alone." The kids all looked up back at his bright blue eyes. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Naruto-sensei!" they said together, even the rotten kid, Konohamaru. Maybe he could be a teacher after all.

* * *

The three undercover councilors trudged back to the room, slightly glad the week was over. On weekends other guides (whom the three had never met, since Kabuto seemed to do everything around here) took the kids out to experience the wilderness around them. Teaching kids for even a few hours a day for a week was more tiring then either of them had expected.

They opened the door, and Sakura immediately flopped on the bed, face down. Naruto did the same on his bed, and Sasuke just stared out the window. The room was silent for a long time, and no one decided to break it. After ten minutes of lounging, the pink haired girl announced she was going to take a shower. Apparently later that night they were going to be treated to a night on the town, along with their fellow instructor, and surprisingly enough, Kimimaro himself.

Sakura shut the door quietly behind her, not wanting to disturb Naruto, who looked half-asleep. She lay her fluffy pink towel on the rack, and turned the knobs to the shower. She removed her white training outfit and threw it into a corner, before stepping into the warmth of the shower. Hot water was certainly good on the muscles. The bathhouse attachment was under some slight repairs (so they'd found out) but by next week they could soak in that.

At the sound of rushing water from the other side of the closed door, the blond opened his eyes fully and stared at the ceiling. "So, how's it going?" he asked his friend, who never did move from his spot at the window until just recently. He was now seated on his bed, looking of into space.

The Uchiha knew he hadn't been asking about him in general, but rather the mission. "No where," he replied frowning. The members of the organization seemed even more cautious now. "I don't understand why they'd send us here on a whim. There could be other things I could be doing, rather then wasting my time here."

Naruto continued to stare upwards. "Maybe they're just trying to get rid of us temporarily," he said jokingly. "I mean, I heard Neji's group was looking into something too. Though it was only a two-day thing."

Onyx eyes looked up sharply at his partner. "What did you say?"

The blond winced. Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say. "Um…nothing." He was grabbed by the front of his training kimono a second later. "Okay, okay! I had the choice to go on this mission or one with Neji and his group! I chose this one because I wanted to get to know Sakura a little better!" he finished the last part under his breath, "and I don't really like him all that much…"

"Damn. Why couldn't I get that? Instead I'm doing nothing here!" he growled, throwing his robe and a white towel on his bed. "I'm next for the shower, okay?" He went for his cell phone as well, only to find it displaying the message 'No Service'. Right, forest meant no reception.

"Yeah, yeah," said Naruto, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck, where the fabric had cut into his skin from when Sasuke had grabbed him. He really had no patience, this guy. "And it's not my fault. If you wanted another mission you should have taken that up with Kakashi and all those others."

Furiously, the Uchiha reached for his partner again, but this time, Naruto did the same. "You shouldn't have mentioned it. I didn't need to know that, so you should have stayed quiet, you moron."

"Loose the attitude, man!" Naruto snarled back, "just do what you're damn told!"

"You're one to talk you—" both of them stopped their bickering at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt your little lovers' quarrel here, but have any of you seen my robe? I can't find it," Sakura said, standing in the doorway, nothing but a short towel covering the middle her body. The steam was slowly coming out from the room, and both of her male partners were well aware of her now bare and shiny shoulders, and long and slender legs.

"Sa-Sa-Sa…" the blond didn't seem to be able to form a word, much less a proper sentence. She blinked once, not seeing what was it he was so flustered about. The two had let go of the others' shirt, seeing that both their attentions were on the girl in front of him. "Uh…well…I…uh…"

Tearing his dark eyes away, he reached for his navy colored robe, and tossed it to the girl. "Use mine," he said simply. She didn't say anything in return, just smiled and closed the door again behind her.

Waiting a moment before speaking, Naruto looked at Sasuke, with a reddish tint upon his cheeks. "Why'd you give her yours?"

"Because you were gaping like a love-struck loser. And if you stared a second longer, you might have very well ripped that towel from her," spoke the raven-haired teen, facing away from the other. "Go take a walk."

"I would never do that! Jeez, have some freaking morals, Sasuke-bastard. And why should I take a walk?" Before he knew it, Naruto was sitting outside on the hardwood floor, and the shoji door was closed behind him. "Okay, I'll take a walk," he said to himself, and walked down towards the practice halls.

Sakura stepped out again from the bathroom, carrying her dirty uniform and dumping it in the hamper in her closet. "Hey, where'd Naruto go?" she asked looking around, Sasuke's blue robe on. It was a little big on her, the bottom reaching her ankles and the sleeves were a bit too long.

"Taking a walk," he replied scooping up his towel.

She nodded understandingly. "Oh, thanks for lending me…" the door slammed in the middle of her sentence, "you robe." She finished the phrase to herself. She'd never been too close with her partner before, but he seemed a little tense today. Weird.

She sat down on the bed (she made sure her hair was relatively dry) and snuggled into the warm robe. It was almost like a foreign substance against her skin. It was silky, yet had a cotton touch, making it extremely comfortable. She inhaled its sent; that too was foreign. It smelt like…well, Sasuke. There was really nothing she could use to describe it, since it was indeed a unique thing.

After a moment, Sakura realized what she was doing. If someone else walked in (especially the Uchiha) what would she say? Blushing slightly, she put on a pair of jeans and a white sleeveless top. She tied her hair up so that the still damp hair wouldn't soak through the back of her shirt. She heard the water go off in the bathroom.

Maybe she'd go for a walk too. It'd clear her head. Still, she shouldn't leave without Sasuke knowing (she did that once any he'd gone ballistic). She knocked on the door gently. "Hey, Sasuke? I'm going for a walk too, okay?" There was no answer, so she presumed that was a 'go ahead'.

She folded the robe neatly and placed it on his bed, and slipped out the door, and slid it shut. Unlike Naruto, she went the opposite way. Down the way she was walking was Kabuto's room, as well as the back entrance. She'd found it once during her first day when they were wandering around the facility.

The back areas of the place were always empty. No one ever seemed to be around, other then Kabuto for whenever he needed some air went out that way. She'd decided to put slippers on before she left, and that made her footsteps soundless.

She decided to open the shoji door to the outside, just to let in some air. What awaited her out there was truly unexpected. There stood a brunet with tan skin. He looked kind of surprised to see her standing there. "And…you are?" she asked, hiding slightly behind the door.

The man coughed once. "Is, um, Kimimaro in?"

"He's around somewhere. Is there something I can take care of?"

The man standing outside looked like he was having a mental battle with himself, before giving his attention back to the girl in the back doorway. "Err, yeah. I have a package for him. He's already signed for it. Can you give it to him?" He handed her a brown package. "Careful, it's fragile. Thanks." With that he took his leave.

She slid the door closed with her foot, and looked at the thing in her hands. How could it be fragile if it was so light? Frowning, she pressed on it gently. No wonder it was so light; it was mostly empty space, other then a smaller box in the middle. What if…this was the Akatsuki ring?

This certainly meant her 'boss' was expecting it soon. Her emerald eyes scanned the label, remembering its every detail, a plan forming in her mind. She decided to go and give it to the platinum haired dojo owner, not wasting time to stop back at the room.

A couple minutes later, she ended up outside his study. She knocked on the doorframe. There was some rustling from inside, and then a weak voice whispered, "Kabuto…is that you?"

"Ah, no. It's Haruno Sakura. Can I enter?" there was some more shuffling from inside, and the door slid open. The martial arts master looked paler then usual. "Um," she said under his cold stare, "there was a package for you." She held it out.

He studied it for a moment, and took it from her hands, muttering a weak "Thank you". The turned and slid the door shut behind him. Just before he could, however, Sakura caught a small glance inside the room. In the middle of the floor a glass of water was split (there was some big glass shards sparkling under the light) and a small little puddle of blood.

She turned back around and made a beeline for her room. She bumped into Naruto on the way. "Ah, Sakura. What's the hurry?" She never did answer him, just grabbed his hand and they both ran to the room.

Sasuke was sitting on his bed, comparing two pieces of paper (which to someone closer would have distinguished them as maps). He looked up at the two. "Okay," she finally said, "I need to tell you something."

She explained all the events that had passed over the last ten-minute time interval. Naruto's mouth was hanging for half the time, and Sasuke's frown just seemed to grow. "What was someone doing 'round back delivering a package? That's what the front's for," the blond said after the story. "And what is up with that freak of an owner Kimimaro?"

"He's sick," Sasuke said simply, folding his arms. The three went into thought. "Sakura, do you remember what it looked like?"

"Yup, to the last fold," she said proudly, taking the sheet of paper and pen she'd just received from her partner. The two males watched intently as she drew the label. It was white, with a red and blue border. The font looked Courier New, probably size 10. "Do you have an idea?" she asked him, as he scrutinized the paper.

"Give me a few days," he said flatly, folding the paper and placing it in his pocket. "First off, I'm going to have the label redone. We can start from that."

"Make two," Naruto said suddenly. The others looked at him curiously. "Well, just in case, get two."

"Okay," the raven-haired one agreed, "but I'll warn you. He doesn't trust us. He might try something. Don't leave anything lying around." They nodded.

There was a knock on the door, startling them all. The door slid open, to reveal Kabuto, dressed in black pants and a light colored T-shirt. "Am I interrupting a pow-wow? Time to get going. Cab's here." With that he left, though he never closed the door. The three looked at each other knowingly. The rest would have to wait. Thankfully, though, the mission was now leading somewhere.

* * *

Naruto was in front of his students, walking in a single file. Kanohamaru and his followers (who were the two he'd been talking to on the first day, Moegi and Udon) were whispering excitedly at the back of the line. "I can't believe we're going to the weight room for the first time. I bet I can press more then all of you."

"Shh, Konohamaru!" scolded the only girl in the class (Moegi), with her index finger glued to her lips, "Do you want to get scolded by Naruto-sensei again?"

"Alright, listen up guys!" Naruto turned towards the students, "And girl. There will be absolutely **no** fooling around with the equipment. Some of the things in there are very heavy and if it falls on you, it'll crack your skull." They were all quiet, expecting something more. Their teacher coughed. "Well, anyway, I'll explain the things in there while we're inside." He slid open the door and peered inside. "Ah! Sasuke! What are you doing in here?"

Naruto's group filed in, and stared menacingly at the other group. Sasuke's group did the same. "What do you mean what am I doing here? It's my class's turn in the room today," the raven-haired teen replied, currently sitting on the bench press. He looked like he was in the middle of an explanation, seeing that his kids were gathered around on the floor.

"What? It was so my turn. Check you schedule again," the blond snarled, moving closer.

"Uh oh," one of the students whispered to another, "they're at it again. Where's Sakura-sensei when you need her?"

"I'm surprised you can even…" Sasuke stood up, then looked at the audience who was watching their fight in silence. "This isn't the time. We can't set an example like this in front of the kids."

"Well aren't we civilized," the other instructor shot back, "but this is our time. And if you won't step aside, I'll take it by force."

"Oh? Will you?" Sasuke's voiced cooed, and his smirk was plastered on. All the intermediate pupils looked on in an interested manner, seeing what would happen. "Will you show me something entertaining?"

"No. We're going to battle for it," he said, sitting down on one of the dual presses.

The Uchiha seemed to find the idea amusing, and sat where he was before. "You're going down, Uzumaki. Person to press 100 pounds the longest wins." He turned to his intermediate group. "This is how you'll see the difference between me and the other instructor here." The kids cheered him on, as he lay down on the bench, Naruto's group rooting for him, as he muttered something like "All talk, no game" before taking position.

In another room, Sakura managed to quiet down her students. "Okay, listen here. I know you guys are a little young to be doing weights, but we can still try. I want to show you how to do them at the next level anyway. What's the rule when we're in there?"

"Don't touch anything!" the ten voices chorused. She smiled sweetly at her class. They were such good kids. She'd only known them for about two weeks, but she loved every single last one of them. One of her students raised their hand, and said in a high voice: "And don't disturb Sasuke-sensei and Naruto-sensei's classes."

"Good job guys. And girl." She slid open the door to the raven-haired teacher's class, only to find it empty. That explained why it was so quiet. "That's odd…" she commented, "maybe he went to train them outside again. Oh well, come on kids, let's go." Then she pulled open the door to where Naruto's class should have been. They were also missing.

The class still remained silent, as they filed into the hallway. The practice halls were all connected to where Naruto's room was located, so the other two's rooms branched off that. What she found odd, was that there were voices of kids coming from down the hall where her group was headed.

She reached the door of the practice room, and there was certainly a shock. Lying down on either bench press was her fellow undercover agents, their students screaming out cheers. She could see her class (no matter how disciplined) rush past her and take a side on either the Uchiha or the Uzumaki. "What in the world is going on here?" she shut the door quickly so the noise wouldn't reach the others' practice halls.

Neither instructor seemed to hear her; just focused on whatever ludicrous goal they were after. "They're fighting for rights to the room, Sakura-sensei," Moegi rushed up and bowed, her red hair falling in front of her face as she did so. "Because Sasuke-sensei, he had the room, but then Naruto-sensei said it was our turn, so they're seeing who can press 100 pounds for the longest."

"What? But the schedule said it was my turn…" Sakura said to herself after she thanked the small girl. She decided that both boys needed to stop. What kind of example were they setting for the children? She stepped in between both presses, shooing the students to back against the wall. "Both of you stop it this instant."

Sasuke didn't say any word of acknowledging her words, and continued to lift up the weights. His face was covered in sweat, and his arms shook every time he either lifted or brought down the bar. Naruto looked similar, though he was counting aloud for the both of them. "Three hundred and one…three hundred and two, I **will** beat you Sasuke, three hundred…and…three," he was saying.

"You never…urg, win," the raven-haired teen replied hotly, still struggling to lift the bar now.

Sakura sighed. They were so juvenile deep down. "Well you asked for it." The cheers of the students were starting to quiet down, as Sakura went over to the wall and picked up two twenty pound weights. She walked back and slid them onto each of their bars at the same time.

They were already struggling as it was, and under the new weight, dropped the bar. Most of the students laughed. "Aww…Sakura…I…was…about to…win," panted Naruto, who was looking into the face of a very peeved pink haired teen. He smiled slightly, hoping that his goofy grin would make her waver. It didn't.

"Anyway…Sakura…" Sasuke managed to breathe out, his chest heaving with every breath, "what are you…doing here?"

The emerald-eyed teen looked at the now silent bunch of students. "Five minute break, kids. Go back to the practice halls." They all nodded and moved out of the weight room and down to their training rooms. She turned her attention to her partners, who'd slid off the bench and onto the floor. "What do you mean me? This time was booked to me. I made sure on my schedule this morning."

"What?" the blond tried to stand, but ended up on the floor again, "But I checked mine this morning, and it said this time was reserved for me."

"Then you guys both must be reading under another day. I checked at lunch and saw my team to be here," his onyx eyes were now looking lost in thought. His eyes opened slightly in realization. "So, if you aren't in the room," he turned towards Sakura, then Naruto, "and you're not either, who's keeping an eye on our room?"

Everyone exchanged glances. "He's suspicious of us, from the package. We need to get a plan into motion, Sasuke," the female said walking to the door, "I'll check if our room was entered, you go back to the kids." She didn't wait for an answer before rushing down the hallway, and finding her way back to the threesome's room. Her fingers felt up the doorframe, only to find nothing. She frowned; someone was definitely here. One of them would usual put a hair in the door, just for security measures. She knew they didn't have much time left.

* * *

She was dressed in a pale green yukata, embroidered floral patterns on the thin material. It resembled her kimono from home, though this one was made with cotton, like most yukatas were. Her obi was pink and black, but she hadn't tied it properly today. After all, she was simply going to fetch Moegi and Chica (who shared a room, being the only two female students) for the bathhouse tonight. Her companions had gone ahead, since they were a bigger group. That way they'd fill in both sides, and she agreed to go later.

"Come on girls, time to move on out." Within seconds, out came the two, dressed similarly to the female instructor. "Now don't you two look pretty?"

"Thanks," Moegi said, leading the way to the bathhouse, and the smaller girl blushed and rushed after. Sakura slowly followed, noticing Kabuto leading a bunch of his students as well as some others back from the relaxing waters. They acknowledged each other with a nod, and continued in their own directions.

They went into the girls' side of the changing area, where some clean towels lay. "Not too long, girls," Sakura said, as she untied her obi. They slipped out of sight into the water, while she took her time. Really, she didn't feel like going in right now. Once the kids were in bed, they'd all planned to talk things over in the baths (on their respected sides of course). Tomorrow was the day they'd decided to put their plan into action.

So she basically sat there, thinking things over. She didn't know much, yet again. Sasuke had made the plan like the first time, and she was kind of still miffed about it. Didn't he trust her yet? 'Stupid Uchiha Sasuke…' she thought with a sad smile.

She didn't know exactly how long she'd been sitting there, since it only seemed like two minutes. However the shoji door to the bath opened again, and out came the two girls. "Where were you, Sakura-sensei? It's been fifteen minutes, but Chica can't stand the water for that long." Moegi was the one that spoke, as she held her towel close. They changed into their yukatas again and Sakura helped to tie their obis in a nice large bow.

"Well how was it?" the pink haired teen asked, as she finished up Chica's bow.

"Loud," the small redhead replied, "but I think the boys were leaving as we were."

She opened the door to the change rooms, the girls rushing under her arm. There was Kabuto again, a swarm of all the rest of the small students crowded around, looking like midgets at the man's height. "Ah, Sakura," he commented airily, "your face says you didn't soak."

"Um, yeah, I was cleaning up in there," she lied quickly, though he didn't seem to notice.

"A terrible shame. I'll take your kids back. Enjoy some time in there," he smiled sweetly.

"Err, thanks a lot." She bowed quickly, and watched him leave. She shut the door, and tied up her lengthy pink hair. She removed the light fabric from her shoulders and grabbed a white towel, quickly wrapping herself in it. Then she opened the second door to the bath, a rush of steam meeting her face. The door closed with a weird sort of clunk. "Hey," she said facing the bamboo wall, which separated the sides, "who's over there?"

"Just us," said a voice which sounded like Naruto's. She removed the towel from her body, and slowly slipped into the hot water. This was really good on the muscles. After some more silence, the blond spoke up again, though more to himself then anyone else. "Ah, my arms are killing me. This feels great."

Sakura giggled, then turned serious. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" came his nonchalant voice.

Sakura pushed some water out of the way, making those little splashing sounds in the water. "How are things going?" She leaned back against the cool stone exterior, listening for his reply.

"As good as it's going to get. Naruto knows the basis, but we're going to have to touch-and-go."

"Oh. You sure you don't want me to help with anything?"

"No, I'm fine."

There was more silence. She turned to face the wall, feeling like he was right there, just beyond the thin bamboo wall. "You can trust me, you know. We're partners."

There was a kind of sigh. "I know."

She looked up, half expecting to be sitting right in front of her, since he sounded so close. Or maybe the heat was getting to her. "Then why?"

Onyx eyes closed, and his face set into a tiny smirk. "You ask so many questions. It's still annoying." She smiled, but of course. To Sasuke, bad…as well as good things were annoying.

There was the sound of water moving from the other side, followed by Naruto's voice. "Why?" Both looked at (or in Sakura's case, looked in the direction of) the blond. "Why is the atmosphere always romantic around Sasuke-bastard and our flower Sakura?" It almost sounded like he was whining. The Uchiha rolled his eyes, and the pink haired girl shook her head.

The door opened from the boys' side again. There was some movement of the water on the other side. "Oh? You still here?" a singsong voice remarked. She stayed deadly still on her side, but it was all in vain. "I presume our flower is still among us. Hello, Sakura."

"Err, hey, Kabuto. Listen, the heat is getting to me. Sasuke, Naruto, I'll see you back at the room." She slowly got out of the water, and grabbed her towel, wrapping it quickly around her. Stepping into the change room was a but of a breather, since it was so humid in there. Her face was read from the water, and it was making her slightly dizzy. Something told her she wouldn't be up in time to hear the master plan that would unfold all tomorrow.

* * *

Why he'd scheduled it while the kids were here, she had no idea. At first she'd thought that today was Saturday, though it was really Friday. How they'd sneak out with a ring and not get noticed as missing, was anyone's guess. Well, so far, Naruto was already gone and carrying out his part of the plan. The other two, were taking care of the children.

"I'm going to keep watch on Kimimaro," the Uchiha said, slipping out of the practice hall, leaving Sakura with many kids. Naruto was on his way to the owner's quarters, where the package should have still been. It was best to keep an eye on him, so that he didn't accidentally walk in during a 'theft'. Well, so far everything was working. Sasuke had said at lunch, everything would unfold.

Naruto was wearing socks, as not to make a sound against the hardwood floors. Before turning every corner, he listened for a moment before continuing. One might not have thought by the looks of him, but he was quite a skilled spy. There was one final corridor; then he pressed his ear against the shoji door of the dojo owner's room. There wasn't a sound. Carefully, he ran his fingers up the frame, making sure there wasn't any kind of 'security system' to give anything away. From what he could tell, there wasn't.

He slid the door open just a sliver so he could slip through. It was a mess inside. There were some books scattered all across the floor, many odds and ends lying about, and a pile of envelopes and letters. Naruto noticed the spot of blood on the floor, that Sakura had mentioned. It looked as if it was stained. Luckily for him, though, the package lay nicely on top of his belongings.

The blond took out an identical looking bundle, and placed it exactly where the other one was. He took out another label and stuck it on the original. This would prevent the rare occurrence that they'd find it. Edging back out the room, he closed the door and breathed a sign of relief. Mission accomplished.

He was going to stop by his room and place the original package with the ring, but he met an unexpected visitor. "Naruto-sensei." Konohamaru stood in front of his room, arms crossed.

The blond jumped back. "W-what are you doing here?"

"That's boring, being with the others, so I slipped out. Whatcha got there?" the brunet asked, pointing to the brown bundle.

Seeing that there was no way out of this, he decided to take a risk. Bending down to Konohamaru's level, Naruto handed him the package. "You are one of the best students in my class. I can trust you with my life, right?" The other nodded. "Well that thing you've got there, is my life. Hide it in your room, and hide it well. Do **not** tell anyone about it, not your friends, not any instructor, not even the owner, got it?"

He gave an enthusiastic nod. "You can count on me, Naruto-sensei. I'll come back to class right away."

When Naruto returned (Konohamaru had slipped right back in without being noticed as well) he gave his two partners a thumbs up. Now, it was up to them. Then phase three required some help on both parts.

At lunch, Sasuke explained what they were going to do. "I can't believe your brilliant plan includes us running away," she whispered to her raven-haired partner. "That's really great…"

"It's just a diversion," whispered Sasuke in a harsh tone. He looked down at his plate, which he'd hardly touched. He couldn't eat right before a mission. That's how it always was. "I'll go now. Come towards the end of the lunch break." Without another word, he slipped out of the dining hall.

Sakura, who'd managed to eat something, looked at Naruto, who gave her reassuring looks in return. Her students were all chatting away happily, totally oblivious to the scheme that was brewing right in front of them. She was rather sad, thinking that she'd probably have to leave them all after this. She loved working with kids. They were so adorable.

The instructors (minus Sasuke who was already in his room) escorted the children back to their rooms for the half-hour break before classes resumed. The two partners parted ways with Kabuto, and shortly after, Naruto went somewhere else, like part of the plan.

Sakura slid the door to her room shut, and looked up at Sasuke, who was looking over that map again. In his hands was the brown packaged he'd so successfully retrieved from Kimimaro's chambers. "Change into something light, so you can run," he spoke, already wearing a blue shirt and off-white shorts.

"Right," she replied, taking something out of the closet and went into the bathroom to change. When she came out, Naruto was back, and Sasuke was busy bounding his hands with rope. Naruto hopped over to her (his feet were also bound).

"You'll be fine," he assured her, seeing her uneasy face. "Besides, we'll kill Sasuke-bastard if something were to happen to you."

The Uchiha simply glared, and clenched the package in his hands. "Sakura, it's time." Naruto was hopping over, but Sasuke pushed him to floor. "Play your part," he said sternly, and the two exited, racing down the hallway.

Naruto glared at the door. Just because he was acting as a victim, didn't mean he needed to be treated like one. When he heard the heard the front door to the dojo slam, he continued with the plan. "Hey! Get back here, you bastard!" the blond yelled as loud as he could. He crawled closer to the door, and maneuvered his feet so that they knocked loudly against the paper door, though not hard enough to break it. "Hey!" he called again, hoping someone would hear him, like the plan.

Again with his feet, he managed to slide the door open slightly. He crawled and stuck his head out the door. There was two students standing in front of the door, which he recognized as Sasuke's. "Naruto-sensei!" one of them exclaimed, "What happened to you?"

Perfect, he thought, "Hurry, go get Kabuto or Kimimaro." They hesitated for a second. "Quickly!" The two nodded and rushed down the hall. He could hear their cries for the two older instructors. Within a minute, he could hear the platinum blond teacher's footsteps down the hall, accompanied by the children.

"Naruto!" his voice came, and bent down to untie his binds, "What happened to you?"

"That won't work. He tied them too tight. You'll need a knife or something," the blond said gritting his teeth. "It's…Sasuke and Sakura! They were running this way, and Sasuke had this thing in his hands. A brown package I think." At the mention of this, the man with glasses' eyes widened, though he listened to the rest. "Then I asked what it was, and he told me to shut up. He handed the thing to Sakura, and then really gave me a beating. He tied me up and threw me in the room. I must have been knocked out for a second, because I hit my head on the floor. Though, I heard the front of the dojo door slam. So I crawled over here and tried to get help."

"Okay, calm down a little, Naruto," Kabuto said, running back out of their room, with a pair of scissors. He cut him loose. "You must tell…" he trailed off and looked behind him. The dojo owner was standing there, listening to the whole story. "Kimimaro!"

"Which direction were they headed?" he got straight to the point.

Naruto scratched his head, "Now that I think about it…he did mention something about the hiking trail. Said it'd be the easiest route, or something." With that info, Kimimaro turned on his heel and ran to his chambers.

Once there, he looked around. The package that sat on his desk was indeed gone. He coughed once. Cursing under his breath, he looked around quickly for some pills. "They haven't come…" he said to himself weakly, "Damn it all. Master Orochimaru will kill me." Seeing no other option left, he opened the top drawer to his desk, and pulled out a revolver. He didn't even bother to slide the shoji door shut, before running out the back entrance. He would for sure get the two traitors.

* * *

"Sasuke…" the pink haired girl slowed to a walk, "no more running, please. It's too tiring to run uphill." They were mid way up the hiking trail, and with a glance over their shoulders, one could see the dojo through the trees.

"Well make it a fast walk," the raven-haired teen replied, "I'm sure he's come after us. Quick, we need to make our escape." He clutched the brown bundle tightly, as they continued forward. Judging by the map he'd studied for awhile now, their escape route was just up ahead.

"There's still one thing I'm confused about, though," she said in between some breaths. "Why'd you steal the fake package?"

"Simple. I'm not about to risk the real thing in this diversion. He shouldn't have noticed a difference in the small time we switched it. Then when we get away, that should also give Naruto enough time to get the real thing safely to our comrades. Then we'll get Kimimaro, and the mission will be a success."

They heard a gunshot not to far off. "God…what was that?" she asked frantically, and sped up to a run, just like Sasuke had.

"I knew he'd bring it. That means he's got two shots left. That should be the amount, since the last time I saw it. So there's one bullet for me," he paused to look over his shoulder, "and one for you." He saw her shudder. "Come on, he's gaining faster then I anticipated."

Apparently, so her partner had said, there was a tiny cave-like passage just over the hill. It connected directly to a sub road, where they could easily reach their colleagues. She was aware of how heavy her breath sounded at this point. She didn't have much time to think about it, though, since Sasuke stopped suddenly in front of her. She looked at what surprise was left for them. "You have **got** to be kidding me," she said.

In front of them did look like the entranceway they were going to take, but it was now cemented shut from the floor to the roof. "How?" asked an enraged Sasuke, "I checked it out last week. How did this happen?"

"Someone obviously thought that we were going to come," she said gritting her teeth. "Now what?"

Well aware that the dojo owner was hot on their tail, he grabbed Sakura's hand. "Let's go." He dashed through the small shrubs off the trail. He was listening for anything. Anything that could help. God damnit this could **not** be happening! Everything was supposed to go right. He was Uchiha Sasuke after all. Uchiha Sasuke did **not** make mistakes!

Sakura, on the other hand, was dead tired. Her body was telling her to stop. Her mind was telling her if she stopped, there would soon be a bullet in her skull.

The Uchiha heard what he was looking for. Water. The river. There must be a way by the river. "Hurry," he said, veering to the left, and the sound of running water got closer. They stopped over a bridge. Not to mention, that the bridge was quite highly stationed over the so said river. This really wasn't their day. "Che."

"This is good. Now what?" she bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"I…" his fists were clenched, "I don't know. I don't have a damn clue!" This was really the first time she'd seen her partner nervous, or not having the upper hand of the situation. He was usually totally prepared. But now…things seemed to be changing. This was a glimpse of reality.

Looking back up, Sakura screamed slightly. Her partner immediately gazed at what she was staring at. It was Kimimaro, firearm in his hand, coming down the escarpment, fast. Her mind was suddenly blank. The only thing that registered now was: they were going to die.

Seeing no other option left, the Uchiha hopped up onto the cement railing of the bridge, and hoisted his partner up as well. "Jump," he commanded. If they kept running at that pace, they'd for sure be caught. That meant death, in big, bold, bloody letters.

She looked at him like he'd grown two heads. "Are you crazy? That river must be three stories below! We'd might not survive the impact! And even if we did…"

"What choice do we have, Sakura?" he asked bitterly, "It's either take our chances with this, or get your stupid brains blown out by the psychopath!"

"I…" she almost lost her balance as a gust of wind passed by. Sasuke caught her. "If the current is too strong we could drown, no matter how good the swimmer."

"Sakura," Sasuke looked behind her to see how far Kimimaro was. He was still a distance away, but not that far. The shrubs and trees were slowing him a bit. "Sakura, I won't let you drown, or die or anything. I promise." They looked at each other in the eye. He was dead serious. He wrapped his arms around her frail body, and whispered, "But you have to trust me."

Closing her eyes, she clung to her partner back. "Okay. I trust you, Sasuke." The next feeling she experienced, was that of the ground no longer beneath them.

* * *

The two remaining instructors rounded up the kids, and placed them in the dining hall. They were all muttering amongst themselves, wondering what was going on. Naruto was rubbing his temples. "Sheesh, what a day."

"I agree," Kabuto said, closing the door behind the kids. They both noted a sound. "Uh, Naruto, your pocket is…vibrating."

The blond pulled out his cell (which miraculously was working now) and stared at the message. They were waiting for the package now. Damn, what timing. "Yeah…I need to get something. Hold on for a second." He ran down to the sleeping quarters in a hurry, pulling open Konohamaru's door. Now, where had the little brat hidden the real thing?

After a couple minutes, he found it hidden in a box under his bed. With a satisfied grin, he came back out again, face-to-face with the other instructor. "Naruto…you can't invade other's privacy, even if they are your students."

Naruto's hands closed around the real package tightly. "This is an emergency situation, Kabuto. If you don't mind, I need to step out for a moment."

Brushing past, there was a firm grip on his shoulder. "Yes," the other agreed, "you do need to step out for a moment." Before the blond could even turn around, Kabuto had hit the base of his neck with precision. He fell to the floor in an unconscious heap. The platinum blond man picked up the package. "Thank you for returning this unharmed," he told the motionless body, "Master Orochimaru will be quite happy. Though, you and your friends were considerably meddlesome. Though, I suppose Kimimaro's done them in already. Pity. I hope we meet again, Naruto." Turning on his heel, Kabuto left through the back door, leaving it open. He pushed his round glasses higher on his nose. Mission accomplished.

* * *

Kimimaro looked over the railing. He hadn't expected them to jump. And they took the package with them. Well they had to be downstream somewhere. Perhaps he'd follow a little bit.

Suddenly, he was sent into coughing fits. He kneeled down, and coughed up some blood. It splattered on the concrete bridge. His body began to shake uncontrollably. 'Shit…' he cursed mentally, his vision becoming blurred. He hadn't taken his medications. His body wouldn't last much longer. He coughed up more blood. 'Forgive me, Master Orochimaru. I was indeed a useless pawn.' With that last thought, his body went limp against the cold ground.

* * *

Spinning, pressure, lack of air, she felt all those things. The right side of her chest stung slightly, though she wasn't sure why. A moment later, she felt the air, cold against her wet skin. She took a big breath, and coughed up water. "Sakura!" a voice in her ear called. Opening her eyes, she stared into the face of Uchiha Sasuke.

"I'm…okay…I think," she replied, with a half smiled. They were still holding onto each other. The current was strong and the river was deep. The depth was most likely the only thing that kept the two from being flattened to death.

She looked at the place where it was hurting. A gash was now there. It was most likely a sharp rock, that had torn through her shirt and took some skin with it. It was bleeding slightly. She applied some pressure to it. But there was no reason to inform her partner. No need for him to worry excessively (if Uchiha Sasuke was one to worry).

Sasuke looked up. The bridge was pretty much out of sight, but he didn't see any sign of their chaser. "We're pretty much safe now. Once we get to the bottom, we'll get Naruto and leave." He felt her nod, and they were carried further downstream.

About five minutes later, the river expanded, and they were at the back of the lake. They'd let go of each other now, and were swimming back. "It's a good thing it was hot today," she muttered to herself, "or else this lake would be torture." Her clothes were dragging her down a little bit. "I liked these shoes too…"

Coming towards them, they saw a motor boat. The two stopped and began to tread, as the boat stopped near them. Driving was Inuzuka Kiba. "Hey guys," he greeted, "need a lift?" They got in with his help, and they drove back towards the shore. "Saw you guys through the binoculars comin' down the river," he explained. "Didn't go as you planned, huh?"

"You could say that…" Sakura sighed, wringing the water from her hair and clothes. They were each handed a towel. When they'd gotten to the shore, there were more Sharingan employees around. "Oh yeah, where's Naruto?"

Kiba pointed towards the front of the dojo, where the blond sat next to Neji and Tenten. He was rubbing the back of his neck. When his blue eyes caught a glimpse of the soaked duo, he turned his head away. "I let him get away," he murmured. "I went to go get the thing, and Kabuto…the bastard. We thought he was just a normal guy. He knocked me out; I wasn't expecting that. Sorry."

They all looked around at each other knowingly. Sasuke was the one to say it aloud. "I guess this is my first failed mission." Naruto and Sakura looked at the ground.

"There's still a chance to catch Kimimaro, though! We could still get some info from him, right?" Sakura asked optimistically.

Neji shook his head. "They found his body a little while ago. Dead. A chronic illness, apparently."

The pink haired girl's hopes dropped. So there was no longer a lead. Maybe it was a failed mission. It wouldn't have been realistic to win every time. Her usual self would say: "There's always next time." However, none was too sure how much time was left for the presidents of their company. Time was the only thing they never did have.

* * *

**Additional AN: **Woo! They failed! I mean come on. You can't expect them to win every time. That'd be no fun. And again, when I realized how long it was, I just decided to end it. This chapter sets up a sequel, or side story I guess. I wasn't originally going to put Orochimaru in it, but with Kabuto and Kimimaro I just had to. But I don't plan on making him appear. That's another story I must write…if I ever get around to doing that after this story is over.

I have so much to say, but surprisingly I can't remember much now. It's late while I'm typing this after all. First off, though, to everyone who recommended songs, a big thanks! I got my hands on a few of them. Secondly, I hate writing essays. It is like impossible for me to do them -shakes fist- and it cuts into a lot of my writing time. Thirdly, if you've stuck with me in reading these eleven-thousand words (yes, that is how long chapter 6 is) perhaps you could leave a review. Even if it's short, since all your eyes must hurt. I know mine do. Fourthly, I'm tired. I think I should stop and get some sleep now. Yes… (too lazy to do the preview this time.)


	7. Case 4: The Hotel

**Starting AN**: Yay! Chapter! -takes bite out of it then spits it out- Wow. This has to be the most cotton-candyiest chapter I've ever written. And I know it's been over a month. I'm sorry. But it's been hectic…

* * *

**Chapter 7  
Case 4: The Hotel**

She was actually quite proud of herself. She'd done everything she was supposed to up until now. Hell, she could have been called crazy for the things she'd done. She'd disguised as a person she'd never met; she'd nearly gotten strangled while trying to make a captive pass out through chloroform. The stupidest thing of all, though, was jumping off that bridge, in order to save their asses. The line had to be drawn somewhere after that.

"No." Her response was firm, and she was not wavering on this one. "I'd jump that bridge ten times over then do that. You can't make me!" she said childishly.

Kakashi sighed. He was expecting that answer. She was certainly smarter then that, to agree to such a mission in an instant. Sasuke, on the other hand, was taking her stance a little less well then his superior was. His frown was set into place, and it didn't look like it was moving anywhere.

"This isn't up for discussion," the Uchiha replied coldly.

His partner on the other hand, didn't change her attitude. "Listen. I think I've been patient enough recently. I've been almost killed about three times, and I think I have the right to refuse this…I can't even call it a mission! This is just a violation of my rights!" He didn't say anything in reply; just kept his mouth in a thin line. "Sasuke, there's no way I'm _seducing _anyone."

"Tch." That was another kind of sound he made, when greatly annoyed. "This is our biggest lead yet, and you're passing it up? This guy had connections to the top, Sakura. You have no choice in the matter!"

"Oh yeah?" she back up, like it was a challenge. "Watch me have a choice. You can do this one yourself, for all it's worth. Either that or give me a respectable mission." She wasn't one to storm out of places in a huff, but this situation called for it. It left Kakashi and Sasuke standing there.

"You can't be to hard on her, this time, Sasuke," the silver haired man told him, wandering back to his desk. The Uchiha didn't say anything in reply, simply stared crossly at her abandoned mission folder.

After their last case, which had completely failed (so many weeks wasted…), some of them went to inspect the premises. In Kimimaro's room had been a list of individuals, most likely whom he'd worked for. Most of them were just names, but there was one that had an address. That was most likely because he'd delivered that personally… There was only a first name with it. Mizuki. After sending Kiba and Shino (they usually did these kinds of things) on somewhat of a wild goose chase, they'd come up with the location. It wasn't a very classy place either.

A sex shop. The original idea was to get the pink haired teen to pose as a seller, but that idea had just been shot down within seconds. "Fine," the stoic male replied, throwing the folders none too lightly back to his superior, "Tell Inuzuka and Aburame that they need to do better. But we're **not** loosing this one. They're getting desperate, I'm assuming, that we're close. Make it fast too."

In turn, he marched out of the office, hands jammed in his pockets like always. We could tell from that moment on, that this week would be really bad. "My, my," Kakashi rubbed the side of his head and proceeded to type the email with the other hand, "he's so demanding. Such a spoiled child."

* * *

"I swear it, he just makes me so mad I could…ah!" the pink haired teen quickly slipped on her headgear and took a wild shot at the target. "Ah! I missed again! I hate this! I hate him!" 

Tenten managed to slip the protective earphones off, and whisk the gun away from the raging female. "Sakura," she said calmly, placing the firearm back into its holster, "what have we said about shooting? One, don't shout in here. Two, aim. Three, you might want to calm down and listen to my instructions."

Ever since the end of last mission, they'd decided it was best if Sakura learned how to use a gun. She now carried one with her all the time, just like Sasuke. What she hadn't really noticed, was that she seemed to be one of the only people without one. The brunette in front of her kept it on the side of her hip (okay, so that one she'd noticed). Some were really well concealed, though. Like, Naruto carried one inside his jacket, in a secret pocket.

"Right…" Sakura replied, inhaling deeply. It was yesterday since she'd rejected the mission. God knew she hadn't seen her partner since, and honestly, she didn't really care either. "Okay, you're right. Sorry." The other handed her the cased weapon, which she slipped onto her belt loop.

Tenten had offered to train her. Besides, she being an expert in the whole self-defense matter, it seemed appropriate. The green-eyed girl was hesitant at first at carrying such a thing. She eventually had gotten used to the idea, and began to bring it along.

She'd done some research (well her job was based upon it, so why not) about the model of her semi-automatic. Firstly, she had no idea what a semi was, until she'd looked it up over the Internet. She found it rather embarrassing to ask the brunette, seeing that it seemed like a stupid question. Still, she was slightly glad you had to pull the trigger each time, rather then letting it all fire (like the fully automatic one, which was just plain scary).

It was then when her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket. Sakura looked down at the message she'd received. A frown appeared on her face. Another mission, huh? That had been fast. The mission better had been appropriate this time.

"Bye," Tenten waved, a sly smirk playing on her lips.

The other sighed. "Why don't you ever do the missions for once?"

"Dunno. You're just lucky, I guess. That's what you get for being Sasuke's favorite. Now get going before he throws a hissy fit."

She tossed her long pink hair to the side. "I'm going…" Her long sweater hid the weapon on her hip. Her pace was rather fast, as her mood was that of being quite irritated. The Uchiha sure knew how to get under someone's skin sometimes.

Within five minutes, she reached Kakashi's open door. "Well, well, hello again, Sakura," the silver haired man greeted. The raven haired one, one the other hand, turned his head away. He was such a child. "Anyway, I understand that our last request was a bit… over the top. But Kiba and Shino certainly take their work to heart." He handed the girl both folders.

Sasuke refused to even acknowledge her, so she simply threw it to his feet. Tenten was wrong. He was already in one of his moods. Stupid Sasuke.

"This Mizuki fellow also owns a hotel back in the city. Perhaps you two could do something about that. What we've recently found out, though, was that he was already being monitored by an under cover agent. Sasuke probably remembers Umino Iruka." Kakashi explained.

While he'd been talking, Sakura was scanning over the papers. "Let me guess. The hotel is down near the 'Red Light' district."

"Well…" the superior trailed off, "it's something to work with. However, he's only there on certain days. Twice a week. That would be today and tomorrow."

"Great…" the stoic Uchiha spoke for the first time today. He turned to his partner. "There's no backing out of this one."

"I know, I know," she huffed.

Kakashi cleared his throat, gaining their attention. "Anyway, please **try** and work together so that you have a plan. I've already informed Iruka that you two would be," he coughed, "stopping by to 'pick Mizuki up'."

"That's stupid," Sakura commented, and Sasuke couldn't have agreed more. "Why can't he just knock him out or something with poison and then bring him here?"

"I thought you might ask. Well, Mizuki, apparently, doesn't trust very many people. In fact, he doesn't trust our undercover guy to the fullest yet. He only trusts the 'customers'." In other words, the partners thought, people who paid for a room so they could have sex. The world was certainly a lovely place sometimes. "And he's got his own little private army of sorts. It makes it hard for one person."

The pink haired teen sighed, slumping down next to her partner. "The stress really gets to you sometimes…" she said, stealing a glance at the silent Uchiha. He was leafing through the papers, for the third time already.

"Come," he said suddenly, and stood up. Wordlessly, she did the same. "Time to plan."

With a nod, she followed him out of the office. When they were in the elevator, she glared. "You know I'm still mad at you."

"That's fine," he replied. "I can live. Just don't let it interfere with the mission." Now that was the Sasuke she knew. She wondered why he'd let go of his childish attitude so fast. "Besides, when you're mad, you talk to me less. Sometimes that's a blessing." She sighed. On second thought, he still was but a child.

* * *

Sometimes she wondered if he did this just to spite her. He had **her** laptop (yes, hers) open. She really shouldn't have told his about her little way of organizing her information. The database she had going was always a very complex thing, Shikamaru had said, but here, Sasuke seemed to have picked it up quite quickly. 

With a sigh, she let it go about the fact he'd be ignoring her until he was finished. Her mind moved to the couch she was sitting on. Why did Sasuke have a couch in his room, while she didn't? And it was really comfortable, too. Hmm… She'd asked for a laptop, and gotten one. Well, she hadn't asked for the cherry flip phone, but she'd gotten one anyway. Think asking him for a cozy leather sofa was pushing it?

Sakura then became aware of a new weight on her lap. It was her computer. "Oh, done?"

"For awhile," the Uchiha replied sitting next to her. "You were spacey again. Don't tell me you're nervous about this."

She let out a little laugh. "Hah. Like **I'd **be nervous about this. I don't have to sell myself to anyone, so it's cool."

If there was another thing she learned about him in their couple of months together, whenever he gave that smirk, it was never good. It was the: I know something you don't know look. "What?" she said, now not as confident.

"You do know we need to pose as…well…a couple."

"What?" she scooted over when his hand came around the back of the couch.

"Well that's the plan," his eyebrow was raised slightly in amusement. The thought about being a couple wasn't quite so comical, but being the stubborn and proud girl she was, the look on her face was quite funny.

"When did we decide this?" her voice sounded somewhat panicky.

"We didn't. While you were off in your little world, Kakashi called and informed us of what we were supposed to do." He chuckled. "We leave at nine."

* * *

At eight the next morning, Sakura was practically tearing her room apart. What to wear? "God damnit what do you wear to a freaking hotel when you're trying to pose as a hooker?" 

Okay, so yelling wasn't exactly going to solve her problem, but it made her feel slightly better. She pulled a shirt out of the drawer. She'd kill Kakashi next time she saw him. The garment in her hand was a green top. It was sleeveless and semi low-cut in the front. That would work. Wasn't too sluttish, but it looked like something to wear on this occasion (who picked out some of these clothes?).

The skirt she'd decided to wear was already on her bed. It was black and rippled; it went mid-way down her thigh. Honestly, her mother would have never let her come home in these things. She quickly changed into the things. How did people wear these things? They were fairly uncomfortable.

To top it off before leaving her room, she looked through an arrangement of shoes. She'd decided for the "come get me" heels (so she liked to call them). They were platforms of at least two inches, black and hot pink in color.

Her hair was tied up high, and she'd added a touch of lip-gloss to her mouth. With a quick glance in the mirror, she sighed. Was this really Haruno Sakura?

Sasuke was sitting in the lobby, reading over the case files (big surprise). He was made aware of his partner's presence by a cat call, courtesy of Kiba. His dark eyebrows raised a high as humanly possible. **That **was Sakura? Good-girl Sakura turned bad-ass hooker?

"Knock it off, Inuzuka, and get back to work," he growled slightly. "Sakura, we're going."

Her pace was slower then normal, since her shoes were quite high. "I'm going to…kick his ass next time I… whoa," she turned her ankle, but managed to grab the elevator railing, "… see him."

"You might have gone a bit over board," he commented, running a hand through his unruly hair. He wore a white blouse; a couple buttons were left undone at the top. His pants were dark jeans.

"No," she corrected, glaring at some random employee in the main foyer, giving her a look, "Kakashi went over board. As did you, for agreeing to this mission. I hate you."

"Oh, I think I'll survive," he replied, walking down the path at his usual pace. It wasn't long before she was quite far behind. Her mouth was moving, most likely muttering to herself about what she was wearing. After a good five minutes, she got fed up and took off the shoes. She walked quickly in her socks.

The whole thing was all too amusing. Sasuke was one not to take things very lightly, but her antics could amuse anyone. All the train ride, her face was set in a frown. With a slight smirk and shake of his head, he went back to looking over his papers. This mission would be a piece of cake.

The train ride was quiet, as it usually was. Somewhere around halfway through the trip, though, she usually tried to spark up a conversation. This time was different. She was just looking out the window, a distant look set upon her face. She really must have been miffed. But she'd get over it.

* * *

"They're staring." 

"No they aren't. You're just paranoid."

"No. Honestly, Sasuke. They're staring."

His onyx eyes glanced around the subway station. It was a Monday morning, but it was summer. There were some men that had looked back after they'd past (the Uchiha had given them glares, of course). There were a couple of older women who put on disapproving looks. Really, the thing didn't make sense in his mind. They were just clothes. Why did everyone make a big deal out of clothes?

"Where's that stupid car before I kick something. Something being you," Sakura was saying. Sasuke had been quiet, as usual. For some reason, though, he didn't feel as confident about this as other times. Maybe the last failed mission was getting to him. Or maybe it was because he probably couldn't get his partner to do as he told this time. With those shoes, she was almost as tall as him. He frowned.

"Right there," he said, as the taxi with the broken headlight came up. When they were both inside, Sasuke handed the driver the directions, and they were off.

"Excuse me, driver, could you turn down the air conditioning? I'm kind of cold." The leather of the seat was cool against the bare skin on her back. The driver glanced in the rearview mirror for a second, and then focused on the road again.

"Sure thing," he said. The undercover partners looked at each other for a moment. Was it just them, or did the voice just now seem awfully familiar?

Shrugging the matter off, Sakura looked out the window. There was her former school. Looking at it longingly, she wondered how her friends were doing. Ino must have called a dozen times. Shikamaru wouldn't, but he might have been worried. Truthfully, she hadn't spoken to her parents in awhile either. They might be worried. Perhaps she'd call after this mission was over.

"You seem nervous," the Uchiha remarked, looking out his own window.

"Well I'm not. I was just thinking about something," she replied truthfully.

"We're here, you two," the driver cut into their new conversation. This was the place? It looked like an old apartment on the outside. It was a three-floored building, though there were no balconies. The outside walls were faded slightly, most likely because of age. There was no sign at the entranceway, just the building number. It gave off an odd kind of atmosphere, since there were only a couple more ancient apartments in the area. It sort of looked like a ghost town.

Sasuke frowned again. Sakura looked at the driver. He was glancing back through the mirror, his silver hair shining because of the midday sun. Wait a sec… Silver hair? She'd finally realized what her partner was so upset about. "Kakashi!"

He laughed slightly, which only caused the raven haired teen to scowl even more. "Guess you caught me. Our driver got sick and I couldn't help tagging along for this one." He paused for a moment; you could see the grin behind his mask. "Besides, I heard Sakura was going to be dressed all cute today, so I wanted to see for myself."

The pink haired girl was about to respond to the comment, but she'd received a forceful push outside the car. The Uchiha was glaring more then ever now. "Stupid perverted man," he muttered.

"You do realize I was kidding," Kakashi informed him. He got the slam of the car door in reply. "Indeed such a child."

They watched the car drive away. "Oh he was just joking around," she said, now that the faint color on her cheeks was gone. Her partner seemed less then amused, so she clamed up after that. "Okay, so he went a bit far with the joking…"

When they opened the door to the front, they were mildly surprised to find what they did. The floors were swirled marble, and there were many mirrors mounted on the wall. There was a single crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which was reflecting off the spotless ground. Was this really the same building they'd seen on the outside? No one was sitting at the mahogany counter, which was probably the reception.

"Ready to act?" Sakura asked, pressing the bell lightly. As soon as it made a sound, all traces of annoyance left Sasuke's face.

After a few moments, a head poked out from a door behind the counter. He had shoulder length platinum hair, and blazing gray eyes. (She was well aware that everyone seemed to have platinum hair now. It must have been a phase.) He looked upon the duo, and then came fully out. He had a sleeveless shirt and faded jeans.

"May I help you two?" he asked politely. From the way things looked, this was most likely Mizuki.

"Hi," the pink haired one replied, giving a charming smile, "we got this address from…"

The Uchiha took over momentarily, "From a friend. He said that Mizuki's place was where we should go."

"Well that's me," the man behind the counter replied, returning a cunning smile. "I guess you two want a room then?"

"Oh, yes please," she said, leaning onto the wooden surface. "I've heard wonderful things about the quality of the place, **and **its privacy."

Sasuke thought that sometimes, she took acting a bit too seriously. It was like a game. "Money is no option. Give us the best," he said, pulling out some bills from his pocket.

"My, my," the owner said, fingering each twenty he was handed, "she's a lucky girl to have a loaded man like you. And…" his hand reached out to trace Sakura's jaw line. (She was still grinning on the outside, but his gesture really made her sick.) "You're a lucky man to have such a winner like her." Mizuki noted the glare he was receiving. He laughed. "I know what you're thinking; don't screw with my bitch, right?" With that he went into the back room to get a key.

"That man really disgusts me," she whispered, trying to wipe off the invisible 'germs' he'd placed upon her face. The raven haired one couldn't have agreed more.

Another man walked out. He had light brown hair, tied up high on his head. There was a horizontal scar that stretched from cheek to cheek. "Hey," he greeted, "my name's Iruka, and I'll show you to you room."

The three of them went up to the elevator, and Iruka pressed the button for the second floor. They were silent until they'd actually gotten to the door of the room. "There are security cameras everywhere," he explained, giving the key a turn. "It's nice to see you again though, Sasuke. You haven't changed at all."

"I don't really see why this is all that necessary," Sakura said, "I mean, he was all alone there. Why not just whip out a gun and force him to come along?"

"In that back room," the undercover assistant began, "there are a bunch of security monitors. Ever since your organization started to go through Akatsuki members like there was no tomorrow, Mizuki's been on edge. Every hall is monitored. One slip and all men would be on you in an instant."

He pushed open the door, and let the two enter the room. It certainly must have been one of the nicest. It was quite spacious; a king sized bed was in the middle facing a television. The floors were carpeted with fluffy white material, and the walls were of similar color.

"The only places that aren't under surveillance are the rooms. He's got some morals to uphold, though, I'm not sure if you can call the business he runs 'moral'."

"So if we can manage to lure him into the room," Sasuke said, sitting down on the couch, "that's when you pull out the gun. That way, you can get out through the window undetected."

"Right," the pink haired teen agreed, "but how do we actually **get** him into the room without force?"

Iruka put a hand on his head thoughtfully. "Let's see… maybe I'll convince him that you two might be spies, coming to gather information on him. Perhaps it'll 'scare' him enough to the point where he might 'check up' on the room. When he finds that isn't the truth, though, he'll have to give his deepest apologies. He might come in at that time."

Honestly, that was one of the worst plans both of them had ever heard. Well, this was one of the stupidest missions that existed. So then, it kind of went together. "What exactly do we have to do that'll convince Mizuki that we're… innocent?" she asked suspiciously.

The brunet shrugged. "Maybe he'll find you in a compromising position? Or something like that." Sakura's jaw became loose, and it hung open slightly at his words (because this, of course, hadn't been in the job description). Her partner noticed this, and took a finger to close it. "Anyway," he continued without noticing the previous reactions he'd gotten, "I'll start working on him now. I trust you guys can manage. I've heard from Kakashi that you two can do wondrous things when acting. I'll see you in a bit."

He shut the door behind him, which left the two alone. It was rather quiet between them. It was only broken by a noise from a room next door. Some reasonably loud moans could be heard through the wall. They caught each other's eye for a second, and instantly turned the other way. Her cheeks were flaming; he could feel his ears warm up.

"S-so, Sakura," the raven haired teen spoke, "you have the gun?"

She smiled, "Yup. Got it in without detection, just like you said." She hitched up the hem of her skirt on the right side to reveal where her firearm was strapped to her thigh. Once again, an uncomfortable silence hung. Rather then breaking it like last time, Sasuke simply rose to his feet and paced around the room. It looked like he was debating something.

"Ah, anyway, Sasuke," she placed her finger upon her lips in a thoughtful manner, "what should we do about… you know."

He walked over, and gave her this look. She'd never quite seen this one before, so she was unsure of how to react. "You don't look like you're ready to act like someone's partner. You're still just a child."

She gave something between a frown and a pout. "I'm not a child. For a fact, I'm 18 years old. And I'll have you know I aced grade 11 drama." During her little rant, she failed to notice the hand underneath her chin. "You wouldn't need to doubt my acting skills if you saw the performance I put for the exam—"

Sasuke wasn't a very patient person. He liked people to get the point across verbally, much rather then visually. Sakura was being rather stubborn. Couldn't she just accept the fact that this 'acting mission' (so it should have been called) was too advanced for someone like her. Just to prove his theory, he kissed her.

Okay, so it was more like their lips had brushed. A one-second peck wasn't really a kiss.

Still…

Her face turned the color of a tomato, and she took a wobbly step back. "Just a child," he repeated hotly. She, on the other hand, had lost her voice temporarily. Perhaps he was right—she had the body of a late teen, but mindset of a fourteen year old. "How are we supposed to pretend we're lovers if you can't even handle a simple act of intimacy for a second?"

"That's just it," she said irritably, facing him again, "we aren't lovers. This makes things hard!"

"That's why I call you a child. You have this thing, Sakura. I can't really explain it. You tend to think everything is a game. No one has really shoved you into the real world yet. You'd think after a couple months of being here it would have helped, but no. Stop playing. You're too old for games."

She put her hand passively in front of her. Was he right? Did she not take things seriously? "You're a strange person, Sasuke." She'd always thought she was pretty serious. Unless curiosity, liveliness, and optimism were placed under his definition of 'childish'. "Would you… kiss anyone, if it was for the sake of a mission?"

He looked at her with mild surprise. He answered nevertheless. "Yes."

"Even if they already were married? Even if you didn't know them? Even if it was Naruto?" Okay, so he hadn't found that too amusing, judging by his frown. "Okay, sorry. I assume that falls under the category of childish." She paused before continuing solemnly. "Sasuke. I want to be serious about this. I agreed to this mission because I wanted to help you. That's what a real partnership is. So I'll be good about it this time. Let's try again."

"And you call me strange." Walking closer, he lifted her chin once again. "But that's the attitude I like." He brought his face down to hers again. This time it lasted a record five seconds. Pulling away, he noticed her face was still colored, though it was an improvement from the last time. And this time, she didn't freak out.

"Again," she said firmly. He looked at her skeptically, not quite believing what he'd heard. "Closer this time. No one's going to think we're a long-term couple with that." He certainly hadn't expected something like that to ever come out of his partner's mouth. However, he agreed anyway.

* * *

"Still, there's something about them I can't put my finger on," Iruka was saying to Mizuki, as they were sitting behind the wooden counter in the foyer. Convincing him was harder then he'd originally thought. The man didn't quite trust him yet, after all. 

"I think you're reading into things too much," the platinum haired one replied, leaning back in his chair and setting his feet up on the countertop. "There's no way some kids are going to be from this organization. They're elite, those people. I'm not worried."

"Ah ha. That's what they want you to think. You're playing right into their hands!" the brunet stood up and pointed a finger at the other.

"Are you okay?" Mizuki asked monotone. Iruka coughed in slight embarrassment, then sat back down. "But tell me. You're a smart man, I think." (At that comment, Iruka's eye twitched.) "What makes you think they're the ones?"

"Just how they acted," he said whatever had come to mind, "For instance, as soon as they entered the room, they sort of looked at each other. They didn't really do anything."

"It could be that they were nervous and waited for you to leave," Mizuki said uninterestedly.

"W-well they were whispering to each other, and I'm sure it wasn't lovey-dovey things either. They looked serious about it."

"Iruka. Let it go. You aren't going to get a pay raise for figuring out the spies."

"I wasn't doing this for the raise!" the brunet said, raising his voice slightly. The two must have been waiting by now. With a deep breath, he continued calmer. This might have been a long shot, but he might as well have given it a try. "I think…that boy…he had a gun."

The two men's eyes met briefly. "Impossible. I could tell if he had one!" Playing the part, the undercover adult simply gave a look of doubt. "What? You think he really has one?"

"It's just a speculation. Perhaps if you checked on them, then it'll clear this all up." The other man seemed to take this into consideration. What Iruka knew, was that this man was a coward. He feared pain. He'd do anything to have power—to be alive just a day longer. "Ah, but of course, if they aren't, don't blame me. This is just my speculation."

Mizuki's eyes darted to the back room for a moment, then back. "You really think that they're the spies?"

"Yes, I do. In fact, if you do go check on them, I'll go with you. As back up, you know. I'll even bring my gun along, for safety. That way the men in there can keep at their work." Mentally crossing his fingers for luck, he waited the response.

He sighed. "Iruka, you're a fruit cake. But I'm not taking any chances," his eyes narrowed, "The Sharingan spies will go home empty handed, if they go home at all."

* * *

Her breathing was hard, since she'd been holding it for so long. But it was getting easier. Her face didn't flush, and she became comfortable to his touch. Looking into the eyes of her partner, she could see that, he too, was out of breath. It never did seem to wipe the tiny hints of a smirk off his face. 

"You're blushing," he informed, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek.

Okay, so **this** time she was blushing. There **had** been a reason for that. As she began to speak, her color increased. "W-well that's because you stuck you're freaking tongue in my mouth."

"You make it sound worse then it actually is," Sasuke's face turned into a tiny frown. Honestly, this girl was impossible. "And anyway, you like it. I can see it in your eyes."

Sakura's face was made up in a jumble of expressions. She didn't retort for a moment. Her fingers were intertwined with his raven colored hair. One of his hands was on her back, the other on her hip. There was a point when she temporarily forgot where she was. It all seemed rather surreal. She'd never really thought of him any more then a partner…and dare she say a friend. She never once looked at him in the light of something more then that. He was Uchiha Sasuke after all.

Funny. The longer she seemed to know him, the less she really did know him. Ironic, huh?

While her thoughts roamed, she was aware that he'd said something (though nothing coherent registered in her mind). As of now, his head was resting on her shoulder. He was breathing heavily against the bare skin. It was an odd sort of feeling that washed over her when he did that. It wasn't anything familiar, that she could say for sure.

Come to think of it, (she'd never admit it to anyone, by the way) she'd never really been so called 'intimate' with anyone ever before. There was that one time when she was seeing Shikamaru back in the seventh grade. It hadn't lasted more then a month, and it went no further then a peck on the lips. (If Ino had found out…she'd probably skin the two alive. This was why they both took it to the grave.)

Sasuke on the other hand, was thinking something different. Actually, he wasn't really thinking much of anything at this point. His body was just doing things instinctively. It was right there, though… right at the base of the neck. It was the strongest there. That sent.

It seemed to radiate off her skin and hair. It didn't really remind him of anything in particular. All he knew was that it was making him light-headed. He inwardly hit himself. This was a mission. What the (he inserted a lovely word here) was he doing?

Then, he heard it. His eyes snapped open, and he stood back to his original height.

"Sasu—" she tried to begin before being pushed backwards. She'd forgotten that behind her was the sofa. She fumbled back against the armrest, but landed softly on the cushioned surface. "Sasuke, what are…" she swallowed as he climbed on top of her. He was careful not to put too much weight on her.

"Just shut up for a second," he said, in a low voice. Just to make sure that she did as was told, he placed his mouth upon hers quite forcefully.

Sakura's heat went racing again. Position…position…was she the only one worried about what the position they were in suggested? A sound reached her ears at that moment. It sounded like a door being opened. Quite forcefully at that.

The Uchiha looked back to where the sound came from, and the petal haired girl sat up, cheeks flaming. Her first thought was "Oh MY God! Someone saw **us** like **that**?" That is, until she remembered that was part of the plan. Right. The mission… Playing her part, she yelped in fake surprise. Sasuke must have noticed they were outside. That last thing had been a kind of setup. That was…quick thinking.

Mizuki, who'd just entered the room, Iruka a fair distance behind, also showed the same look of horror. It seemed as if he'd made a grave error. He glanced furiously back at his brunet assistant, who held his hands defensively in front of him.

"What are **you** doing here?" drawled the raven haired one, a look of rage and annoyance setting in upon his pale face.

"Uh…" the owner blinked once, and gave Iruka the you-are-so-dead-when-we-leave glare. "How embarrassing. There seems to have been some kind of mistake."

Both teens rose from the seat, Sasuke making his way towards Mizuki. Sakura followed closely behind, and added a, "I thought you said we'd have total privacy, you creep."

"Shh. Let me handle this," the Uchiha wanted to bash his skull through the wall about what he was going to call her, "_baby_." As they'd planned, Sakura still remained behind him, clinging to the back of his shirt. "Now, this had better be good."

"Firstly, let me apologize sincerely to you and you're lady," the platinum haired man stated slowly, thinking of what to make up. He was so preoccupied, he failed to notice Iruka close and lock the door quietly. The Sharingan employees gave each other a quick understanding glance.

"Forget the sweet talk," the Uchiha commented, staring the target straight in the eye. "I just want the explanation." While talking, he reached back to feel where his partner was. His hands landed upon a leg, that was covered by the skirt.

The hotel owner sighed. "It's complicated, boy." The answer didn't satisfy the teen the least. Mainly because he was still trying to feel for the gun Sakura had concealed. "But since I did break my agreement with the privacy thing, I _could_ tell you something…"

The pink haired girl had to bite her tongue so she wouldn't squeak. This felt extremely odd. He'd found what he was looking for, so proceeded to hitch up the hem of her skirt. She wanted to squirm so damn badly.

"See, I'm not on the best of terms with some people…"

Hand running along thigh! She'd **kill** someone later for this. She was extremely thankful (but partially disappointed for some reason) when he unhooked the weapon from its holster. She gave a quiet exhale.

"…so I need to take extra precautions…"

Sasuke smirked slightly. "So that you don't get captured by spies who want information out of you?" he finished.

Mizuki's dark eyes widened. He hadn't mentioned anything about a spy. "How did…" He watched the Uchiha pull a gun from behind him. The girl had had it? How careless of him. He gritted his teeth. "I see. Smart Sharingan spies they had. I was not expecting kids."

Iruka drew his gun. "Don't move, Mizuki."

The platinum haired man glanced back in mild bewilderment. Then he frowned. "I should have known you were in on it too. Piece of shit, Iruka."

"You don't like pain, I know that," the brunet continued. "Come quietly and cooperate and we won't shoot. But if you struggle I'm afraid we'll have no choice. And you can't call for backup from here."

The target was staring down at the floor, thinking it over. He smirked. None of them had the time to react. In a flash, Mizuki's elbow had come backward into the chest of his (now former) assistant. From the shock, and from temporarily being winded, he fell back, letting his gun slide out of his grasp. It flew about six feet.

Sasuke growled. He would pull the trigger before the man could turn on him. Sakura covered her ears, since she knew the loud bang was coming. He curled his finger, and pulled the trigger back. Two pairs of eyes widened. Mizuki had been expecting to be shot then and there. Sasuke was just expecting it to fire. "What?" he asked himself in a slightly panicky voice.

'Oh no!' Sakura thought, covering her mouth. This was her gun.

_"Ah! I hate him!"_

At the firing range that day…she'd used her last bullet. 'I forgot to refill it!' she screamed to herself.

She noticed a punch being thrown at her partner. "Sasuke!" she called out, watching him stumble back and hit the floor. Their captive was just a meter or two in front of her. She gasped.

"Sakura!" the Uchiha managed to call out, after rubbing his jaw. He looked around for Iruka's gun. It was a few feet from himself.

"Now…for you, conniving vixen," growled the hotel owner.

For her, it seemed the world was moving in slow motion. There was some crazy Akatsuki guy probably coming for her throat, and all she could do was stand there. 'Sasuke…' she watched him (this was still slow motion after all) gradually reach for the brunet's gun.

Ah. Why was she like this? Wasn't it her that planned to show everyone she could do things by herself? 'Up until now, I've been protected. I haven't really done anything on my own. Sasuke, Lee… even Naruto. This time it's my turn. I'm going to do this.' She set her face in a determined stare. 'Watch me.' Her fists were clenched.

Time reverted back to normal. He was coming, and she surely wasn't going to let that happen. Her right foot rose, and with all the force she could muster, brought it down on his foot. Maybe there was a reason she'd chosen to wear two-inch platforms.

When he yelled out in pain, this made her smirk. Nothing like the wrath of platform shoes. As a reflex, he began to hunch over from the pain. (A toe or two must have been broken.) Her fists were tight. Perfect. "Conniving vixen…" she spoke, bringing her left hand up to the bottom of his jaw. Uppercut. Mizuki's head snapped back, but the pink haired girl wasn't done yet. "…**huh**?" She removed her foot so that her right hook to his temple would send him falling.

Iruka had recovered first and went over to the captive, placing him in a headlock, and holding one arm above his head. Sasuke managed to snatch the gun and hurried over. He pointed it to the man's forehead. He had on one of those murderous stares. "Don't try anything funny. This one's loaded."

Sakura exhaled. She hadn't been totally aware she'd been holding her breath. She looked triumphantly at her partner how'd glanced over. When he looked away, she scrunched up her face in pain. 'Ow. Punching a bag hurts a lot less then human bones.'

"Bastards!" the platinum haired man snarled, spitting at the Uchiha's feet.

"Just sit there quietly for a moment," a new voice spoke up from then window. Sitting there was no other then…

"Kakashi?" she questioned, "How'd you get in here?"

"Through the window, of course," he replied nonchalantly. "In any case, you caught him. Good going."

"Kakashi!" Iruka said. The silver haired man gave a small wave before walking over. He handed the brunet some rope and a cloth (to be used as a gag. They didn't need any trouble, now did they?).

"There's a car waiting down there," he informed, pointed to the window, "you can climb down the ladder." Iruka nodded. "We'll join you in a minute." The brunet disappeared outside, as Kakashi hoisted the captive over his shoulder. He chopped the back of his neck, and his body went limp. "Anyway. You two did well. The mission was a total success."

Sasuke nodded. He rubbed his jaw once more. "Yes. It went without a problem. Anything to capture the bastard."

Something began to dawn on Sakura. She'd forgotten that during the time. It was a mission. Everything they'd just done… everything they'd been through. Of course, she smiled sadly. Someone like Uchiha Sasuke couldn't possibly like her like her. She'd been a fool for thinking so for a second.

"Sakura?" her partner questioned, "You coming?" He was half way out the window. Their superior was already gone.

"Oh, yes!" Indeed she was a fool. In just a couple hours, she'd harbored unnecessary feelings for him. For Sasuke. She couldn't deny it. She couldn't deny the fluttering of her heart, and the rock that now lay at the pit of her stomach.

"Maybe I should just forget what happened today…" she told herself, letting loose the long pink hair that had been tied up for awhile. With one last look at the room where they'd shared their first, (and mostly likely last) moments together, she proceeded out the window.

"It was just a mission after all."

* * *

**Additional AN: **I finally got this done. Yes! What a completely useless mission. (But yay, they didn't fail this time!) And I needed to get the relationship moving a little. It can't be too dragged out, now that the story is more the half finished. But I don't think any of you SasuSaku shippers mind, right? 

Eck. This was amazingly hard to write. I have no clue why, but it was. It didn't turn out as well as I had originally expected it too, but I'll live. Hopefully. -is shot- x.x

Anyway. At the end of last chapter for my other story I asked if people were giving up on the pairing. But it's nice to see that as soon as chapter 300 appeared, so did more stories. That made me happy. I have no clue why I'm saying this, but it needed to be said. That, and I wanna see him un-silhouetted! Kisimoto is just being downright evil!

Well, that's the last mission, folks. Next time, it's back at Sharingan. A tiny turning point, perhaps. All I can say that it's the beginning and the end. Of what? Dunno. Stay tuned! (It sounds like a TV show…)


	8. Beginning and End

**Starting AN**: Why is this chapter so late? You all are wondering I'm sure. Well, I can sort of sum it up. (Those of you who read my other fic know this already.) English homework, final exam, other subject homework, English homework, been out of town, Ultimate, and more English homework! So without further delay, it's chapter 8!

* * *

**Chapter 8  
Beginning and End **

It was a Sunday like all the others. She woke up late and looked around her rather empty room. She was of course used to this by now. She hadn't really gotten around to putting in some 'homey touches' since she didn't know how long she was actually staying here. Who knew that catching super criminal masterminds was so hard?

It was the day they all had off. She dressed casually, which consisted of gray sweats and a white top. Her hair was up in a messy bun. Sunday was Sakura's 'slow' day. A day to just wind down, cool off, and spend some good quality time with her laptop.

She'd made it her goal to read through every single bio of every single employee at Sharingan. That goal was certainly taking longer then expected. In two weeks, she'd only managed about half the employees. Honestly, some of these people were quite boring. People needed more interesting lives.

Today, she managed another ten before clicking her computer shut. Sighing, she took her cell phone and room key before exiting. Her green eyes looked across the hall to her partner's room. She wanted to talk to him, but was unable to find the courage to, in the past couple days they'd been back from the last mission. She hadn't seen him around either. In fact, it was almost like he disappeared after every mission and came back whenever a new one came up.

Moving into the empty common room, she took a seat in one of the armchairs, draping her legs lazily over one of the arms. How did this stupid job become so darn emotionally complicated? This was certainly not in the job description. Well, now that she was onto that, going head-over-heels for your partner wasn't underlined in big red letters either.

"Is life rough?" a high feminine voice asked. Tenten was wearing some track pants and a matching jacket with a white towel draped over her left shoulder. The brunette gave a tiny wave. "Now really, things can't be that bad."

"Oh… I don't think you have any idea," Sakura replied miserably.

The other chuckled. "Wanna come join me at the gym? It's a good way to release stress." She extended a hand and pulled up her friend. The pink haired one stretched before walking off towards the elevator. But Tenten had one more question (which was more of a comment) to ask. "You have fun on your last mission?"

"Huh?" she asked, after pressing the down button on the keypad. "What?" her tone turned sort of nervous at the creepy and sly sort of grin she was receiving.

"Nothing," the other replied, stepping into the elevator first. "It's just that thing, right there." She tapped the side of her neck. "Usually marks like that only come when people have 'fun'. So I thought I might as well have just asked. But forget about it."

She let out a slight gasp. Glancing in the elevator mirrors, she indeed noticed a good-sized red mark. She cheeks flushed the same color. Pulling her lengthy pink hair, she tried to conceal it. How embarrassing.

The two were silent until they got to the basement level. The brunette took out her key and opened the door. She immediately began to stretch. Sakura stood there for a moment in thought. Had she been spacing so much during her time home that she failed to notice such an evident thing as that?

It was odd. She usually was the one observing behaviors of love-struck idiots back at school. It certainly was a different experience to **be** one. She felt like a total moron. She looked like a total moron (but only because she'd tied her hair up **flaunting** that ever-so embarrassing mark to the world). "I need a walk," she stated plainly.

"There's a treadmill right in front of you then," Tenten jerked her thumb in that direction. She unzipped her track jacket. She was only wearing a black sports bra underneath. She slipped on some boxing gloves.

"What if someone, like a guy, walks in here and sees you like that?" Sakura finally decided to ask after a minute. Dressed for a workout and everything, she really must have taken exercise to heart, were her thoughts.

With another punch, the brunette looked back. "So?" was her nonchalant reply.

With a shake of her head, the pink haired one decided she was going to just walk on the treadmill. Scratch that. She was a wreck. A jog sounded better. She moved the meter upwards.

About fifteen minutes into the workout, the gym door opened again. Sakura could hear her friend working on the punching bag stop. She didn't bother to turn around, risk loosing her footing on the rather fast treadmill. Besides, she was minding her own business.

"There you are, Sakura."

At hearing that cool and extremely familiar voice, her legs momentarily froze. That hadn't been the smartest decision made by her today. She almost fell completely off the machine, if it wasn't for her grabbing the handles on either side in the nick of time.

Panting at stopping so suddenly, she turned around. There stood her partner. He wore his usual attire, a dark top and dark bottom. "Don't kill yourself until your purpose for being here is fulfilled."

"Uh, right, sorry," she said lamely, pushing some pink hair back. Composing herself quickly, she asked, "So, what was it that you needed?"

He looked at the other girl in the room. She immediately turned back to beating the bright red bag. "Well, perhaps you'd join me a little later. For dinner, or something." For a moment, only the sound of the punching bag was heard. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Um, yeah, fine. Really."

"Okay…so I'll assume that's a yes then. Just, uh…" his dark eyes looked over her appearance. Workout clothes and dinner…they didn't go well together. "Get freshened up and change your clothes and everything should be fine."

"Yes, um, right!" she replied lamely, well aware her face must have looked like a tomato. "Good, so, see you then!" With a glance back, he left the two like it was before. After she was sure that a good fifteen seconds had passed, she added, "Wow. I handled that smoothly."

"Yes, you most certainly did," Tenten agreed, not taking her attention off the punching bag. "But it sounds like someone has a hot date with the Uchiha heir tonight." Her tone was impish, and somewhat suggestive.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll totally be 'hot' as you say," the pink haired teen replied flatly, "Knowing him that consists of going through old case files and possibly to inform me for the thousandth time that we can't screw up the next mission."

With a big punch, she decided that was all the beating it deserved for the day. "Oh, you're just putting a damper on your own fantasies. Hurry up and get going."

"What? But it's barely past three."

The brunette gave a sharp sigh. "You of all people, I'd think take like two hours to get ready. Of course, a speedy shower and about ten minutes are all I need, but I'm not normal. But whatever, your choice."

"Okay, okay, I'm going, if you're so bent on getting me out of here," Sakura smiled playfully. When she climbed back into the elevator, she got a good look at herself. "Whoa, I really am a mess." Her hand brushed the mark on her neck quickly. She recovered it with some hair. She should just forget about it.

* * *

She felt it be her duty to look over the rest of her employee files. Sakura was fairly proud that she'd gotten a lot closer to finishing them all. There were only about 20 more to go through. That was certainly an improvement from the other 181 files she'd gone through.

She had her laptop open on the small desk in her room. She decided to change out of her robe and into her dinner clothes. She didn't bother to blow dry her long pink hair, rather just put on her robe and let it air dry. Now that it wasn't damp anymore, she threw on a pale green (one that matched her eyes) and the white skirt she'd worn day one of her first mission.

With a glance at her computer screen, she decided to turn it off. It'd been on for awhile anyway. In the process of it shutting down, there was a knock on her door. "Coming!" she called out, turning the lock open on her door. She was somewhat surprised to find her partner there.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Since when is diner at…" the pink haired teen glanced at her watch. "Wow. It's six thirty already? I didn't realize it was so late. In any case, I'm ready." She offered him a charming smile, which (of course) he did not return.

Sasuke took his key and locked her door, since she had no place to put such an item. They walked in silence into the slightly filled common room. Everyone didn't seem to take that big of a notice of the two's presence, other then Naruto.

"Hey, where're you two going at this hour?" he asked somewhat loudly, causing a couple people to turn. They went back to their business after that quick glance. "You going on a date?"

"None of your concern, Naruto," the Uchiha replied, hitting the down button on the elevator.

Sakura was a little kinder in answering. "Just to get something to eat. Nothing big."

The lift's doors opened and the pair stepped in. The blond stuck his head in before they left. "So it is a date?" Before she could reply again, Sasuke had pushed his head out with a barely audible "Get out."

"You really shouldn't tell him things he doesn't need to know," her partner spoke upon reaching the ground level.

"What I tell people isn't of any of your concern either," she said brusquely. Anyone who looked at the company heir's face at that precise moment would have noticed the slightly appalled look on his face. (Because really, no one, **no one** told Sasuke that something 'wasn't of his concern'.) He replaced it with a frown instead, and that conversation ended right there.

Sakura on the other hand, had that inner voice talking again. 'Oh my God. I did **not** just say that to him. So much for staying on good terms. He's nice enough to invite you out for dinner and you just **have** to tell him off.' Thinking about it some more, she couldn't help but add, 'Okay, so he had it coming. Can't expect me to tolerate him that much.'

Pushing open the doors to the cafeteria, he walked briskly to the very back of it. Sakura had some difficulty keeping up. "Sorry, okay?" she muttered, stopping with him when they reached another door. The curtains were drawn on the small window. He took out his keys and unlocked it.

She entered before him, glancing around the room. Perhaps this was where his parents ate, since there was only one table with two spots. She heard the door close with a soft click. He brushed past her, taking one of the seats. Turning back, he raised his eyebrows, asking the silent "You sitting down?" question.

Hastily, she did as was silently told. After a moment of silence again, she noticed him staring with an unreadable expression. "What?"

"What do you want to eat?" he asked, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Her face colored slightly. Of course. That was the main reason they were down here (amongst other things he'd want to discuss, she was sure of that). "I don't know if it sounds like a strange request, but a pizza? I haven't had one in forever. We could split one, if that's not to forward of me. I'll take anything on it."

He shrugged uncaringly. "Fine with me. One sec." He went into the other door, which was probably the kitchen, since he seemed to be talking to someone inside. She just sort of kept looking at his back. She shook her head violently. Heaven forbid he caught a stare.

"So…" she said, trying to make some conversation when the raven haired teen sat back down, "You're not quite the type to spontaneously invite someone out for dinner. To what do I owe this privilege for?" Her grin was the same as always; sweet, but not always real. A disarming smile, one might call it.

"My…" he looked away. She could say the expression he was carrying was semi-embarrassed. "Mother says I should improve some relations with my partner." The girl giggled slightly. He sent her a look, though his features still held that twinge of annoyance. "It isn't funny."

"Yes it is," she said, now stopping her laughter. She placed one elbow on the table, and set her chin to rest on that hand. "You aren't a peoples person, Sasuke. That's why it's amusing." Their food came at that moment. Maybe he put it on priority, since it wasn't more then twenty minutes ago that he'd ordered it. She raised her eyebrows slightly. "You put tomatoes on pizza?"

"An old habit. If you don't like it, just take them off," he said, taking a slice onto his place.

"It's okay. I was just asking," she said, after taking a slice as well.

They ate in silence for the first little while, until Sakura had gotten annoyed with it. "Any new mission being assigned to us lately?"

He swallowed his drink before answering. "No, not that I'm aware of. Last I heard, Inuzuka and Aburame were still digging. They've gotten some useful things out of that Mizuki person, though."

"Oh really? Like what?" She was satisfied that he was of some use. After all the trouble, one out of four missions should be helpful.

His frown deepened and his fist clenched around the edge of the table. "It's partially an inside job. Some bastard is plotting this right now, in this building."

That much surprised her. Actually, the whole thing did. Why anyone wanted two innocent (well, from what she knew) people dead? "Oh. Well, don't worry. We'll find the traitor in time." He didn't seem so convinced, and went back to another slice of pizza.

Tilting her head to the side, she looked in her partner's direction. She wasn't staring again. Rather, she was thinking about something that bothered her ever since she'd come work at Sharingan. "There's something that's been on my mind ever since I came here, Sasuke." He met her eye, taking another bite out of the pizza. "Why…does everyone start so young here? Like, Naruto, Tenten, and the rest. I asked Hinata, but she said she came to be with her cousin."

Midway through the next bite, he stopped. Certainly he wasn't expecting this question to come his way. He set the half-eaten slice down. His hands folded. "It's kind of complicated," he said, folding his hands, looking sullen. "Basically speaking, they're all orphans or street kids."

"Really?" she asked. The extreme surprise wasn't well disguised in her voice. "Oh…I didn't know. Maybe that's why she didn't want to talk about it."

"The quiet girl might not, but I'm sure your tomboy friend won't mind. She was the quickest to adapt, I think. Then again, they all have a deep connection with this place. Mom took them in, you could say, and brought them here. She gave them a future, basically."

That had explained Mrs. Uchiha's "Call me Mom" phrase upon her arrival. So she'd been like a replacement parent. "That's…very sweet. You're mother is a very kind person." She put on a sincere smile.

Astonishingly, her partner gave a tiny smile back. "I guess you're right."

If only he could look like that every day, she thought. He wasn't cold at all. Well, not at this particular moment at least. It indeed looked like an expression of kindness. His gaze shifted to the wall, him totally forgetting about the food on his plate.

It was then, when her hand turned into a kind of magnet. Slowly, she reached across the table for his. They were still folded in front of him. He didn't seem to notice either. When they were about an inch apart, she thought things over. How odd would it be if she suddenly placed her hand atop his? She retracted her hand.

But not before his hand grabbed hers. Her emerald green eyes looked up to meet his onyx ones. "If you want to do something, don't hesitate. You don't know what you'll miss." Their fingers were interwoven with one another, the skin longing for just a bit more touch. "You've…been acting kind of strange today. Anything wrong?"

Sakura could feel his thumb slowly caress whatever part of her hand it could reach. So she was the one acting weird? (Well, that answer would actually have been a yes but…) He was certainly acting strange as well. Not that she minded so much. "It's…nothing. Really."

Sasuke stood up, his hand still loosely locked onto hers. "Part of fixing relations is trust, Sakura. We're partners. You can tell me what's on your mind."

There was that twang in her heart again. Partners. Just partners. She rose to her feet also. There were certain things she wanted to tell him, certain things she didn't. Things were all just too confusing. This beating of her heart, for one. Certainly after a few months, she couldn't have grown to… (dare she say) _love _him, could she? No, of course not. People didn't grow to love in a few months. It simply did not happen. "I…"

With his free hand, he brushed the side of her face. There was a tiny glint present in his usual stone-cold eyes. She wasn't quite sure what it was, though. "Your eyes tell me you want to say something," he remarked, slowly moving the hand down her face until it rested on her neck.

Honestly, she wanted to slap herself. She must have looked like a complete idiot, staring awestruck at his face. But nothing wanted to respond. This was her brain shutting down. Mayday!

His fingers could feel something beneath them. Retracting them slightly, he rubbed them together. A pale sort of powder came off. He tucked some hair behind her ear and looked at what she'd tried to cover up. So she'd been thinking of it too. "Why do you try to hide it?" he asked softly, certainly in a voice she'd never heard.

"Because…it's…" yes, brain unable to continue forming full sentences now. "Because…" She actually never did realize how close their faces really were, until she could feel warm breath on her lips. Mayday indeed. At that point it didn't come as much of a surprise when he bent down just a little further to close the space off. Yes, brain would most likely fully crash in about three seconds.

Moving her free hand, she managed to find his neck and sort of pull him closer (eyes closed of course). It all seemed fake, and certainly like their last mission.

Mission…

But this wasn't a mission, was it? This was the real deal. She didn't quite comprehend it. She hated not comprehending things. Oh well, she'd let this one slide. When the two pulled away, she let her eyes slowly flutter back open. "Sa…suke," the name was merely a whisper. They let their foreheads rest against each other. "Aren't things happening kind of fast?" the pink haired one asked, still taking in the moment.

"Like what?" he finally let go of her hand, and brought it up to her face so she could look at him straight in the eye. "It's not like we're saying words of love. But, you're certainly an interesting creature, Sakura."

Her inner voice told her to drop it. This is what she'd wanted, right? So there shouldn't have been a reason for her to complain. "I think I should take that as a compliment."

"If you want," Sasuke replied. He managed inhale that stupid intoxicating sent that had made him cross the line last time. It was poison, that aroma. "I hope you realize what happens in this room…stays in this room."

"Of course…" she smiled, closing her eyes again.

* * *

Monday had come around, and still there was no mission for the duo. Kakashi, along with some other superiors were busy interrogating Mizuki. So, to put it simply, he'd given the two the task of supervising the packaging room.

Basically, they had no other use for them as of now, so they could just sit around the place to do whatever.

Though, Sakura had wanted to see the place. It was the only part of the building she'd yet to see. Her partner didn't really care one way or another so he'd brought her down. It was on the second floor of the office/factory side of the building. It was a pretty open area. There were many places to walk, unlike the some of the other floors that have big machines covering the way.

"Wow…this would really scare me if all of these were loaded," she remarked, strolling down next to a conveyor-belt, transporting what looked like sniper rifles. There were about twenty on the belt at once, and more were still coming out. There were some people along the length of the belt who'd take them up, inspect them, place them back, and the like. Someone at the end would place them in a case, neatly stacking them one atop the other.

"You can hold one, if you want," Sasuke offered, picking up one from the moving carrier, and placed it gently in her hands. It was fairly large. He showed her how it worked. He showed how the scope was mounted on top to reduce headspace. Then he placed her hands in the proper grip. "Keep a steady hand, and you can shoot something up to a thousand meters away."

"That's scary. You measured?"

"Well, someone did." He watched her place it back on the conveyor-belt and watch it trail to the end. She was very easily fascinated, at times. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her turn to another group of firearms. This time she looked at the 9mm, one similar to the ones they carried.

Her green eyes looked around. She spotted some familiar faces at the back. They were standing next to a bunch of boxes. "Oh, Sasuke, look. It's Neji and Lee." With that, she ran over to them with a wave. Lee was the first to notice and made a big waving gesture back.

"Ah! If it isn't the lovely Sakura coming to spread her youthful joy!" Lee exclaimed, holding a hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion. He gave a smile (one could swear the whiteness of his teeth was blinding). "And it must be an occasion if the president's son is here in the flesh. Good afternoon, Sasuke."

The Uchiha said nothing, simply acknowledged with a nod of his head. He caught the eyes of the Hyuuga. The two of them gave something a little less then a full nod. The two didn't really see eye-to-eye. Such was normal.

"Alas, I'm afraid you've caught the two of us at a bad time," Lee was saying, hoisting a crate of weapons upon each shoulder with ease. (What he lacked in looks, he definitely made up for in strength.) "Neji and I are going back and forth between areas. There's a shipment going out today, so things are a little busy."

He turned to leave out the sliding door that was located behind them. The brunet also managed to get two boxes at once. "Excuse us," he said rather politely to the female. He in turn, left.

The duo remained standing there, with nothing to do. "God, I'm bored," Sakura sighed, sitting on an empty crate. Her partner sat wordlessly beside her. She decided to try and make some conversation. When the two were alone, it was easier for him to talk. "How are your parents doing?"

"Fine, as always," Sasuke replied shortly.

Or, perhaps he wasn't in a talking mood so much. Looking around the room some more, something odd caught her eye. But first, she decided to ask a question. "Hey, Sasuke. How come you aren't allowed any cell phones in here?"

He frowned slightly at the question. Surely she knew the answer already. "You know why. It interferes with the machinery. Why the stupid question all of a sudden?"

"No, just wondering if the rules changed recently." She pointed to somewhere on the opposite side of the room. There was man, who had just shut his cell and was looking around. When he must have thought no one was looking, he slipped out the emergency exit only doors. The alarm didn't sound, which he probably knew before hand.

"Odd," the raven-haired teen commented. There was a tiny glint in his partner's eyes. It didn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha. "Just leave it."

"Oh, just quickly. I want to check it out. I'll be careful. Promise." She tried her most convincing smile.

"Isn't that what you said before coming to 'spy' on us at the meet with Gato?"

"How'd—" she was cut off with a shake of her partner's head, telling her to drop it. "Anyway, this could be important! Come on, something must be nagging you too, right?" Leaping off the crate, she grabbed his hands.

With a sigh, he got off as well. Funny how easy she was to please at times. Her face looked like a kid at Christmas. She really did love to know everything. So they swiftly moved across the large room. Upon reaching the door, they could see it wasn't closed properly. That was probably why there was no alarm.

The area behind the door was covered in a plastic tiled wall that were a faint turquoise in color. There was one flight of stairs that led down to the ground floor. There were double doors that led to a small terrace around the backside of the building.

One of the gray painted doors was left ajar. They couldn't hear anything from the other side. Sasuke moved in front of the cherry haired one. He slowly opened the door, only to find no one there. She came out after him. "There," he whispered, tilting his head in the direction of the side of the building. Sure enough, there was a very faint voice on the right.

Creeping up the wall, they caught bits of one side of the telephone conversation. "…Yeah, shipment's all ready to go… No, no. Not a thing… Yes, of course I'm su—… You cant be serious, right?… Okay, I'm on it." There was the sound of the phone flipping shut.

It was deathly quiet, the only sound being the gentle breeze that passed through the air. "Thought to have slipped out unnoticed, but watched by others. However, you leave seemingly unnoticed, but have also been watched. Isn't it time you came out, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura?"

Both teens looked at each other. They were seen following. But not by this man, no. Someone else. But…who was it? Putting on a slight frown, Sasuke stepped out from behind the wall. Sakura followed, though she stayed mostly behind her partner.

"So the special duo makes their dramatic appearance," the man said with a tiny laugh. Sakura had recognized him from one of the bio's she'd read yesterday. His name was something like… Kori Mubi, or something along those lines. "Just what are you doing here?"

"I think we should be asking you that question," the Uchiha said calmly. "It's an odd place for a phone call. If you want to keep your job, I suggest you talk. Make it fast, because my patience is limited."

At that comment, Mubi began to laugh. It was the evil kind of I-know-something-you-don't laugh. "You think I care about some little job? I'd thought you'd seen right through it. Guess not."

"What _are_ you talking about?" Sasuke said, reaching back. Of all **freaking** days to leave the gun in the room. Of all days… Seeing his actions, Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder. Her unspoken message was clear to him, though. 'I have one. Don't worry.'

It seemed like the crazy employee was talking to himself now. "Oh! Isn't this good? I can get rid of the two pests right here and now. Won't the boss be proud of me?"

"_It's an inside job."_

Sakura understood. Her partner probably did too, seeing how he'd gone rigid. "One of the Akatsuki," she hissed, in turn frowning.

He gave a sickening chuckle. "Bingo! You've won the game. For that, you receive a one-way trip to Hell." He whisked out a gun and pulled the trigger.

The two had realized this a bit too late. Sasuke, who had the quicker reflexes, did what any of the others would have done. He pushed his partner out of the way. A slight gasp came from his mouth, before dropping back onto the hard ground.

Her green eyes widened in shock. Her feet were rooted in place as she watched him fall. It took her a moment to realize that the wound hadn't been anywhere near fatal. It had pierced the forearm. Sasuke managed to slow the blood flow with his good hand, but had some difficulty getting up.

"Oh, he takes a hit first. What a gentleman," Mubi said, pointing the weapon at the (now rather helpless) Uchiha. "Write me and tell me how hot it is down there."

Without thinking, Sakura reached back and removed her gun from its holster. But if she made it in time was another story.

So, the sound of another shot was heard.

* * *

_"Hey, Sakura? What are you afraid of?"_

"_Hmm? Oh, well, I've always been…hemophobic. Like, I totally freeze up, like a state of trauma I guess."

* * *

_

The gun slipped from her hands and clattered to the ground. Sasuke just kept staring in front of him. Mubi, well… eyes wide, he fell sideways. There was a wound on his left side, right under the ribcage.

Her legs felt like jelly. She sank to the ground, her hands shaking. There was some sweat now forming on her brow. She looked at Sasuke, more precisely, at the wound upon his arm. Then she looked at the man she'd shot. Yes. She'd shot someone. And there was a lot of it. The splatter had gone all the way to her feet.

So much blood! 

Her mouth was open. She wanted desperately to scream. There was no sound. Even her voice had gone to hide from the atrocious liquid.

"Sakura!" her partner called out, trying to get her attention. "God damnit, Sakura. This is not the time to be spacing out. Take out your cell and call for help." He noticed that the first shooter was reaching for his dropped weapon. Worming his way closer, he managed to kick the gun away.

Looking again to his partner, he could only growl in frustration. This had been the **worst** idea on the history of the planet. Letting go of his wounded arm, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. He dropped it on the floor, and went back to covering the gunshot injury. He couldn't risk loosing much blood. "You better come quick," he said quietly to his phone, before stepping on it.

* * *

"Kah!" Naruto made a sound in slight boredom, staring at the crate of weapons in front of him. "Isn't this Neji and Lee's job? Moving crates are a waste of time."

"Oh, why don't ya quit your complainin' and just work?" Inuzuka Kiba said, rather annoyed with all his complaints. Usually him and his partner, Shino, were out doing some digging on different people, but they were still looking into Mizuki. Their supervisor, Yuhi Kurenai, was one of those conducting the interrogation.

Aburame Shino, a rather tall man who constantly wore sunglasses stood there without uttering a word. A quiet Hyuuga Hinata was also present, not wanting to get involved in their little dispute. Well, it wasn't much of a fight now, but it would quickly escalate into one.

"Ha! Well maybe I wouldn't have been complaining if I had something more interesting to do then moving boxes around! If you'd have done your job, I could have been on a mission!" retorted the blond, pointing an accusing finger at Kiba.

"This **is** what my job is right now, pea-brain! Just learn to deal with what life feeds you," the brunet went to haul a crate onto his shoulder. "And the faster you do this, the faster you have to go do whatever."

"S-Shino, do you think we should stop them b-before something bad happens again?" the soft-spoken girl asked quietly to the other.

The tall brunet looked down at his, then, back at the two who looked like they might bite each other's heads at any second. "No. Leave them be."

"Why you… I'm going to…ah?" Naruto stopped his threat, feeling a vibration in his pocket. "Did I leave my phone on?"

"Gah! Naruto! You aren't supposed to leave your cell on in this room!" scolded Kiba, before feeling the phone in his pocket vibrate as well. "Ah shit!"

"You hypocrite," sneered the blond, before checking the message he'd received. For that matter, the two silent beings also had forgotten to close their phones. They checked the message they'd both received. "What is this?" he said, looking at the strange message. There was a little blinking dot on the screen.

"It looks like an emergency signal," Shino spoke up.

"Like that mechanism all our phones have? When smashed while it's turned on, it sends a distress signal to the four closest phones? I've never seen a signal before," the Inuzuka teen said. "Means we must be the closest."

"This number…" Hinata said trying to remember, "I think it belongs to Sasuke. For him to send out a distress signal…something must be horribly wrong!"

"Outside, this way," Shino pointed to the open emergency exit doors. The four made their way hastily across the room, Naruto leading the way.

Rushing though, he bumped into someone. "Ah! Sorry Mr. Vice President. In a rush. Gotta run!" He veered around him and continued towards the exit, Kiba hot on his heels.

"Excuse us, Vice President. We just received a distress signal from Uchiha Sasuke. We're going to see what's wrong," the girl said bowing slightly.

Hoshigaki Kisame blinked once. "A distress signal from Sasuke? I wonder what could have happened. I'll come with you," he offered. The three of them went to the stairs where the other two had disappeared.

"What is this?" they could hear Naruto's loud voice from, halfway down the stairs. Upon finally reaching the open terrace, Hinata let out a gasp, and the vice president stepped slightly backwards. Shino, well, no one could really tell what he was thinking from behind those dark shades, and Kiba covered his sensitive nose at the smell of blood.

"About…time someone showed up, Naruto," grunted Sasuke. "Get some medics to patch him up. There are some pieces of info we need from him. And…someone better tend to her too."

The tall brunet was already on the phone with the medics of the building, giving them the location and telling them it was priority. Naruto and Hinata went to see the still shaking Sakura. "Hey, hey, Sakura. Come on, please snap out of it!" the blond tried to get her to respond.

Hinata noted the look of terror that still held in her emerald orbs. "T-talking won't help her now," she explained, taking hold of one of her arms, "We need to get her out of here. Help me, please."

"Oh dear, Sasuke. You've sure gotten yourself into a big mess this time," the vice president commented, pulling out a handkerchief he could use to stop the bleeding better then his hand. "Does it hurt?"

The Uchiha glared. "I just got shot. Of **course** it hurts!"

"Oh dear, no need to get snappy, Sasuke. It'll just make your heart pump faster, and you'll loose more blood. In the mean time," the vice president looked over to the Akatsuki member, "I want to talk to him." With a frown, he went over to his side.

The two were moving Sakura, she sort of dragged her feet along. They were doing most of the walking. They stepped in a small puddle of blood. Looking down, the pink haired girl could see her reflection in the crimson liquid. Not to mention, she was touching it. The blood. She found her voice again.

And let out a loud high-pitched scream.

* * *

It was just before seven that evening. Sakura was lying on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. The events from earlier that afternoon were still vivid in her mind. They'd some how had managed to get her to stop her screams into just trembling. The medic had looked at her briefly and said the shock would wear over.

"How embarrassing," the pink haired girl mumbled into her pillow. She sat up and stared at her brunette friend, who was sitting at her desk. Just to keep an eye on her. "Weird for someone to have an intense fear of blood, yet still want to be a medic, huh?"

Tenten shrugged. She'd relieved Hinata, who was watching over her in the rather traumatized state the pink haired teen was in. She was lucky that she'd calmed down now, though. "But instead of causing blood, so to speak, you'd heal it. Maybe that's the key to your fear, huh?"

The other smiled somewhat sadly. "He probably hates me, doesn't he? Either that, or think I'm totally useless."

"Please don't say that. You're just bringing yourself down. Sakura, you aren't you right now. Listen to what you're saying!" the brunette said in a forceful tone.

"No. I think…for the first time I've started to think clearly. Tenten…what am I doing here? What is all of this? Why am I doing things totally beyond my comfort zone?" she walked up and looked at herself in the mirror. What had happened to the old her? The old her didn't look like this. Not until Sasuke came along.

Sasuke… Speaking of which, she'd heard he was back resting in his room now. She didn't really want to see him, though. What would he think? What would he say? (What was with all these stupid questions she had?)

"This is really stupid," Sakura said, placing her hands on her hips, still watching the mirror. This had really pushed her over the edge. Some may have called it running from her fears, but to her, this was drawing the line. "I can't take this anymore. Really, I can't. I'm leaving!"

Tenten had been leaning back on the chair, and almost fell over at that moment? "What? Leaving for a walk?"

Her green eyes turned somewhat cold. "No. Leaving for good." Sensing the look she was getting, she added, "And do not try to stop me, Tenten. I've made up my mind."

"You aren't thinking straight! See? Don't…well just don't move, okay?" the other commanded, and went out of the room. She went down the hall a few doors. She found the key to her partner's room, but knocked before entering. "I'm coming in," she said.

The male Hyuuga was reading a book. "What's wrong now? Is she going crazy again?" he asked, placing a woven bookmark at his place.

"Yes, she is. Neji, she's talking about leaving. Like, leaving leaving. You know, for good."

He thought about this for a moment. "So? Let her leave."

"What? Come on, don't take her side on this! She needs to stay here!"

"It's not really up to you what she can or can not do. And, instead of telling me, you should be informing her partner. After all, if there's someone who can change her mind, it's him." The brunet shrugged his shoulders and went back to his book.

With a frustrated type of sigh, she decided to go back to the (now slightly crazy) one's room. It turns out that Sasuke had beaten her to it. His forearm was bandaged and was also in a sling. "So that's it, huh? Just going to walk out when everyone needs you the most?" he was saying.

"What are you talking about? No one needs me. Remember? I'm just useless little Sakura. Let's all protect her!" she huffed angrily back.

"Of course people need you! I…" he stopped some more words from spilling out from his mouth when he caught sight of Tenten. He then turned away. "Whatever. Do as you please."

Sakura looked at the back of her partner. Then she looked at the wound on his arm. Perhaps he'd have never been hurt, had it not been for her stupidity. "I will. You can have the laptop back, if you must."

"No, keep it." He gripped the doorknob to his room quite tightly. "Your help…was very much appreciated." On that note, he walked inside and shut the door.

"What? You're leaving right this second?" the brunette finally commented after watching the duo's seemingly last encounter. "That's all you're taking?" The only thing she had in her hand was the laptop in its case.

"I didn't bring anything with me. I don't think it's really right to take more then this back," she said coolly. She walked over to the elevator. The common room was empty, which was rather unusual for this time of night. "Can you…tell everyone that it was a pleasure meeting them. They were very friendly, and that…I'm sorry about the sudden leave. It just couldn't be avoided, though." The elevator made its usual dinging sound before it opened. "It was great meeting you too, Tenten. I'm glad…we were friends. Bye." She offered one small smile, and watched the other girl disappear behind the closing doors.

The lobby was also empty, except for the receptionist. She didn't say anything though. Sakura walked through the opening glass doors, and onto the darkened path to where the subway platform was. She'd made a call just a little while earlier (before Sasuke had intruded) to let the operator know.

Reaching the stairs, she didn't look back at the building. It'd be too hard. Rushing down to the subway car, she hurried inside, and watched the doors close. The train lurched, and it slowly began to pull out of the station.

Sakura put her hands over her eyes. What was she doing? Had this been the right thing? She could see an image of her partner's cool and smirking face, then it changed to the image of him lying in a pool of blood.

A lone tear escaped her eye and fell to her lap. "I'm sorry. So sorry," she whispered to the air, now wishing she had taken one last look at the building. Perhaps it'd help her to remember the life she'd just lost.

* * *

**AN**: This chapter is dedicated to Kishimoto and his chapter 306! Yay for unsilhouetted Sasuke. Though, the clothes could have been better, but they aren't that bad. I'm just happy the manga can actually go somewhere now.

Anyway. Hemophobia: a fear of blood, as you all know. And Sakura is very much hemophobic in this story. Actually, I wasn't quite sure what the correct term was for the fear of blood, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. It comes right before the word Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia which I found amusing, since it's the fear of the number 666. Okay, sorry. I just wanted to say that since the word looked cool! XD -is shot due to her own stupidity-

So now. What shall happen now that our favorite duo is split apart? Well, Naruto, Shikamaru and Ino sure won't sit quiet, that's for sure. Now if only Sakura and Sasuke weren't so damn stubborn…


	9. Split Apart

**Starting AN: **Yay exams are over! Summer baby! (Haha, yeah, that's why this chapter's so late.) Hmm. But when I actually sat down, this was certainly the easiest chapter to write. It's also my favorite so far. Dunno why. But it is.

* * *

**Chapter 9  
Split Apart**

For some, it takes years. For others, it could take simply a few days. For a routine to come into play, that is. Sometimes it's seemed like forever (since the days looking back really all just seem muddled together) and that nothing would really change. Well the world was always changing little by little. These changes were usually so small they were hardly noticeable. It's only a big tear in that so-called perfect routine that makes the scale tip.

Exiting the train alone seemed somewhat surreal. Funny to think, just because she'd first found it strange to enter the grounds of Sharingan… Well, best not to think about that right now. She took the rickety service elevator up, and made sure the coast was relatively clear before slipping out of the forbidden entranceway.

Though it was about 9:30 on a Monday night, there were still quite a few people still getting home from work. She gazed around aimlessly, and her feet brought her to where the taxis were all lined up. At first she looked for the one with the broken headlamp. See? It was routine. With a shake of her head, she climbed into a random one.

About a half an hour (and about twenty dollars) later, she found herself staring at the single wooden door—the entrance to her house. Her house that hardly seemed like she lived there, after being away for so long. Sakura reached into her pocket, only to find nothing but her cell phone. (She'd just realized she forgot to leave that device there.)

She must have looked a mess. She didn't have a mirror, but sometimes, one knew when they looked dreadful. Her eyes felt heavy, perhaps how Kakashi had felt everyday after receiving probably no more then two hours of sleep every day. Acting somewhat like a zombie, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.

At first, she thought no one would answer. It was after ten, of course, and it was a weekday. What were the chances her parents were up? "Coming!" a feminine voice piped up a moment later and opened the door. "If you're selling something we—" her mother had opened the door, and looked at the girl in front of her.

"Mom, no one sells things at this time of night," her daughter informed with a shake of her head. Really. She'd forgotten what an airhead her mother was at times.

"Sakura!" the older woman exclaimed, enveloping her in a tight hug. Sakura was afraid she was going to be strangled to death before even walking through the door. "You should have called telling us you were coming. We would have picked you up from the train station. Well, I would have. Your father's on a business trip."

"Things were kind of…touch and go. It was rather sudden that I left. The, um, summer project was finished," the pink haired teen tried to think up a solid excuse for not coming home after the end of the term. "Anyway, I'm home now, that's what's important."

"Yes, I guess you're right," her mother smiled, pushing back some long scarlet locks and holding the door for her, so she could step inside. "I guess it seems that this old place isn't as fancy as Blue Castle. Well, such is life."

Certainly it did look strange to be staring at the walls of her family room. Off to the left was the kitchen, then up the stairs would be her room filled with pink sheets and the like. It almost seemed new again, in an old kind of way. "I guess. But the real thing this place is missing is the marble floors." Both women laughed, though, Sakura's wasn't totally natural.

"Oh, it sounded like you had a lot of fun there, Sakura. I'm so glad you got the opportunity to go. Oh," her eyes grazed over what her daughter was wearing. "What a beautiful necklace. You didn't have it before. Did someone give it to you? A boy maybe?" The mother giggled at the thought.

(Apparently she'd forgotten about the pendant too.) The girl's emerald eyes looked up. "Uh, yeah, Sasu…" she trailed off. The wave of guilt hit her hard again. "Mom, I'm really tired. Can we…um, talk about this later?"

"Oh, yes so sorry. I forgot how tired you must be after such a long ride. You just get right upstairs to bed then." Her mother shooed her up the stairs when she tried to take her laptop bag with her. She'd take it up in the morning.

As Sakura closed the door to her room, she inhaled the smell. Certainly it was her room, but she'd been away for so long it didn't smell like she'd remembered. Probably she'd just gotten used to her room at Sharingan. Ha. Her room? It sounded like she lived there or something.

She walked over to her dresser where the mirror always stood. She removed her pendant and set it down. Hopefully she'd somehow just forget it there and never think to look again. Somehow, though, she didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon. Jeez. Pathetic. That's what he'd say. Being down and moping over a guy. How thy mighty hath fallen.

* * *

Certainly she'd woken up with pink sheets all around her for the most part of her life, but again it goes back to routine. She'd gotten so used to the white and soft feel of the bed in her room back at that place (she barely had the heart to call it Sharingan anymore) so that even this felt foreign. 

The sunlight had been so bright that hot July morning, that the fabric curtains didn't really do much good. Sitting upright, she rubbed her green eyes until they opened, somewhat sleepily. It wasn't even nine yet. Before she'd gone through those hectic times at her job, she usually was one to sleep in late. Now it felt like she'd overslept.

About fifteen minutes later, she'd dressed in a pair of dark shorts and light top. She missed the great choice in clothes she'd given up when leaving. That was the price, though. To get back her old life, she'd have to give up the perks of living at that place.

The house was rather quiet. Wandering over to the refrigerator, she noticed a note in her mother's handwriting. She took it from under the magnet to read it.

_Morning (or afternoon) Sakura!  
I had to go to work today, but I'll try to be home ASAP. There's some food in the fridge when you get hungry. Hugs and kisses._

_Mom_

_Oh, one thing I almost forgot. Ino's been calling a lot wondering when you'll be back. You should talk to her._

Right. Sakura was slightly ashamed that she'd forgotten about her two really good friends back at home. Leaving so suddenly without a word was really a sort of stab in the back. After her breakfast, perhaps she'd take a nice long walk down to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Her meal was nothing fancy. Just some simple toast with butter and a tall glass of orange juice. She didn't really want to do the dishes anyway. After such a long period of time without doing so, perhaps she'd forgotten how to anyway.

Before stepping out, she braided her hair, and grabbed her white purse that always stayed by the door. No one had moved it during her absence. She checked to see if her spare set of keys were in, then set off out of the house.

Had it not been for that photographic memory, she'd probably have lost her way at getting to the end of the street. The atmosphere seemed a lot different too. Instead of a tense and somewhat gloomy air, here, the sun shone brightly down upon the people below. The birds sung their usual song, and everything just seemed like the back of a postcard.

"Hello. Lovely day, isn't it?" an elderly lady said as the pink haired one passed by.

Sakura stared for a brief moment. Then she gave a faint smile. "Beautiful. Good day to you," she replied, and turned down a slightly busier street. People were quite friendly back in her hometown. Not that they weren't back at that place but… She wanted to slap herself. Thinking about this wasn't going to help her mood get any brighter. Though, it seemed that she had many ways to relate things back to that place.

Thankfully the flower shop wasn't that much farther. Just at 16th and 4th. It was a few more blocks down. She was standing at the intersection no more than five minutes later, waiting for the light to change. It was then she realized that behind her was an empty alley.

Of course. This had been the spot where she'd first got dragged into the whole mess. The light had changed, but she couldn't help her curiosity once more. One thing she could say, was that it had looked a lot more ominous in the evening. Now that the sun illuminated the whole area, she could see exactly the route she'd followed.

A little ways down, she remembered the spot where she hid, and one of that place's employees standing almost right next to her. Moving towards the end, she recognized this as the spot where the others stood. And that on the ground was… She covered her mouth and turned quickly on her heel. On the ground had been a rather large patch of dried blood. From far away it hadn't seemed like a lot at the time.

Sakura dashed out of the alley and hopped across the street, where finally she was able to take a deep breath of city air. She knew things were really bad when the sight of dried blood made her queasy. The flower shop was a couple stores down from where she stood.

The door opened accompanied by the sound of a chime. She noted that it hadn't been there before. The scent of fresh flowers hit her quite strongly. "I'll be there in one sec," a voice called from the storeroom. The green-eyed girl watched someone walk out of the back (with difficulty she could see) with bouquets upon bouquets in her arms. They were piled so high, it covered her face. "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Today we have specials on all white lilies and…" Ino set down the flowers on the counter and stared up at the customer. "Sakura!"

"Really?" the pink haired teen commented, "I didn't know you sold Sakura flowers."

"Yeah, well, no, wait!" the blonde tried to get her words sorted out. "What **are** you doing here?"

"Why Ino, I'm hurt," the other placed her hand over her heart dramatically, "I guess if you don't want me around I'll go wander aimlessly somewhere else."

"Ah, wait. That's not what I mean, Sakura." Ino grabbed some bouquets that had almost slid off the counter from being piled so high. "Anyway, it's nice that you decided to drop by. I had a feeling you'd forgotten about us back here, where the paupers live."

"Oh, I'd never forget you. Don't you worry. It's…well, good to be back." She helped her friend with the many flowers, in placing them in a slightly better location so they wouldn't tumble off again.

"Gah. So many orders came in, and Mom went out for her hair appointment. I'm going to be busy the next few hours. Listen, why don't we talk a little later, like around three. Perhaps at our old hangout, if you don't mind hanging out at a low-class café," Ino said in a slightly mocking tone.

Sakura laughed slightly. "No, no. It's fine. I'll see you then." With that, she placed some of the flowers in her hands in some empty pails out near the front, and went on her way.

* * *

Sakura hadn't felt like going home after the brief meeting with her friend. Instead, she had the sudden urge to shop. Not for anything in particular really. Just browse and peer through the windows of all the shops the next five blocks down. She finally walked into a bookshop and purchased a rather thick mystery novel. That had taken up a good two or so hours. 

After that, she'd wandered back towards her school. She could see some people wandering the halls. They were at summer school after all. She couldn't help but feel a little sad that she hadn't graduated from there, alongside her long-time friends. Instead, she hadn't really graduated from anywhere. Surprisingly though, as she'd leafed quickly through the mail before leaving, she'd gotten a graduation certificate from Blue Castle. How she'd managed to pull that one off was a mystery.

School was a good place to think. The atmosphere was so comfortable for her, sitting against the trunk of a large pine. There, she took out her novel and began to read.

It was something about mystery stories that had always entranced her. It was partially the reason she'd become an 'information gatherer' as she used to call it. The thrill of feeling the intense suspense that lurked even just turning to the next page. Of course, she liked how if it had murder in it (which it usually did) the blood was solely imagined, rather then the real thing.

Looking at her watch, she blinked at the time. She'd been sitting there for at least two hours, totally absorbed in her book. It was then she noticed how hungry she really was. Though, it was almost tine for her to meet Ino. Placing her receipt as a bookmark at her place, she put it away and went on her way.

The café wasn't that far from school. It had been their hangout, after all. Stepping inside, she saw it still looked exactly the same. The same old pictures on the walls, the same hanging light fixtures, so on. A wave of a hand caught her attention. Ino was already there, a glass of bubble tea sitting in front of her. On her right, sat a very bored looking Shikamaru.

"Hey, guys," she greeted, taking a chair around the round table. A short silence overlapped them all, but she didn't want a lack of discussion to start so soon. "So, I see it became a threesome. It's good to see you again, Shikamaru."

"Uh, yeah," the brunet replied. He leaned back in his chair slightly, and stared up at the ceiling almost as if asking himself, 'What am I doing here again?'

"Anyway, Sakura," the blonde had said after kicking the only male at the table in the shins. This made him sit up straighter. "I still can't believe you went to Blue Castle. I mean come on; it's the best school in the country. I didn't even know you applied."

The cherry haired girl wanted to say that she didn't know that she'd 'applied' either, but that probably wouldn't have been the greatest thing to say. "Yeah…well, it was rather short notice. I didn't bother telling just because I didn't even think I'd get in. Then one day it was like…poof! I was there, and that was that."

The waiter came buy, and Sakura ordered some food. At this point, she was quite hungry. Then they went back to their previous conversation.

"It still wasn't nice to leave us without notice like that, you know. At first I thought you were just sick for…a really long time," Ino sighed, stirring her drink with the very thick straw. "But I'm still suspicious. I mean, you're not hiding anything. Like, you really just ditched school for a boy or something."

"Of course not!" the other replied a little louder then she should have, since a couple people turned. Her face colored slightly, and she quieted down. "Jeez. I didn't bring my diploma with me, but I do have a picture of me and a few friends in the common room." Sakura had placed a photo that Temari had emailed her a while ago in her purse. She'd been expecting a question like this, and came prepared. "I'd still think you'd have a little more faith in me, Ino. I mean really."

The other's blue eyes observed the photo. It was her friend and three other girls she didn't know. They were all wearing a blue uniform, with the school's crest on their shirts. "Wow. They all look so…rich." Sakura giggled slightly. "You look like you had fun."

"Yup. It really was. They were…a little hard to get used to at first. But they're really good people. Sometimes a bit spoiled, but still." She fiddled with the ends of her braided hair. The smile dropped from her features, and she began to stare off into nothingness.

"Hey, Shika," the blonde said to the silent one, "I think her food is ready. Why don't you go up to the counter and bring it here?" Her suggestion, he knew very well, was rhetorical. He stood up, and placed his hands in his pockets before leaving to give them some 'girls only' time.

When he was gone, Ino continued the conversation. "So I hear they're smart. How'd it feel to be with your own kind?"

The pink haired teen snapped out of the trance and answered. "Ha. Most of those kids probably bribe the universities. I was like, the super genius compared to them." They traded smiles again.

Though Ino was never as smart as her friend, she wasn't stupid either. She was also female. She could tell when something was up. "So really, Sakura, what's wrong?"

Green eyes blinked. "What? Nothing's wrong." The other teen glared back. "Okay, so it's a little strange to be back. I'm just getting used to it again."

"Oh, is that all?" She received a nod in reply. "It doesn't seem like that's it. I'm not stupid, Sakura. And I've known you since we were little kids. Don't give me the nothing's wrong crap, because something is. You sure as hell were a lot cheerier before you left. So spill."

She sighed. Perhaps she truly needed some acting lessons. Or maybe she wasn't good at the whole mask thing when depressed. "Look. It's nothing big."

"Jeez. Of course it's something big. I mean, you are making a big deal out of it. What did you do? Leave this really hot guy, or something?" Ino asked. Sometimes she was right on the mark with some statements without even knowing it. Sakura's face just reddened slightly. This, of course didn't go unnoticed. "Oh my God! You **did** meet a hot guy! Not only that, but you left…without him!"

"Shh! Please Ino!" the blushing teen pleaded. Her voice had been a little loud there. Though, she really couldn't find anything else to say on the matter. Of course, her friend didn't understand the situation, but she assumed she was about to get lectured either way.

"Sorry, sorry. You know me, just getting a little over reactive," she said with a wave of her hand. "So tell me, how is he?"

A tiny grimace set upon her face. "A complete and total jerk."

"Ah…aren't all the good looking ones like that," nodded her friend in agreement. "I won't ask you anything more. I can see it's still a tender spot. But you met him while you were at that school huh? He went to the boys' school that's near, I'm guessing. How'd you meet him?"

"Ah…a small place. I'd gone for a iced cappuccino and…well he was just sitting there near the counter," Sakura recalled where the two had sat when they met every other day for their little meetings.

Ino giggled like a schoolgirl, even though really, she'd already graduated. "So it was like a message from God? Still, two, three months is quite a short time for someone to take a liking that strongly to someone. But there is the theory thing about love at first sight. Well at least in my mind." She let this sink into the mind of the other. It didn't seem like it was working though. And Shikamaru was on his was back. "Well, I'll say this. I don't really know what happened. But your heart is certainly telling you something different then your head. You, being smart, may listen to your head more then your heart. But, you know, maybe it's about time you let it speak."

"Ino…" Sakura said, rather surprised by her words. They may not have been totally philosophical, but something about what she'd said had made that tiny organ in her chest thump a little harder. "Ah, thanks a lot, Shikamaru."

He nodded, and went back to staring at the ceiling. They two let Sakura eat in silence. She was aware of this and tried to hurry in eating it. "Excuse me, won't you?" Ino said, getting up from her chair, "The ladies' room calls my name. Oh, and try not to choke on your food, okay?"

The pink haired girl had to take a big gulp of water to clear her airway. Perhaps she'd slow down a little bit. By the time, she was almost done, a voice found its way to her ears. "You were never very good at lying." Her green eyes looked across to see the Nara genius staring at her.

"I guess I can never really fool you, huh, Shikamaru? You're always the same," she said, giving a light smile. It was just like as it was before. He could always tell with her. Ino was a little harder to understand, so he claimed. "But I really was at Blue Castle. I did attend classes there."

"No, I believe you on that one," he replied flatly, "But, you've been elsewhere. Because, for one, the term is over. And I know for a fact there is no such thing as the 'summer project' as you called it. But, I have a feeling you weren't there for the whole time school was on. Am I mistaken?"

She chuckled quietly. "I've missed your smartness, Shika. You're as correct as ever."

"It was that kid. Uchiha Sasuke, was it? The one who took you away."

She looked at him, rather surprised. It was understandable that he assumed she hadn't spent all her time at the school. The thing that surprised her, was how he could automatically relate it to the Uchiha, without some sort hint or clue. "You assume so? How?"

The brunet closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair once again. "It wasn't hard to figure out, really. First of all, you had gone to 'check up' on him on your last day. Next, he never was back the day you'd gone either. Plus, you aren't one to leave without telling someone. If you applied to another school, the paperwork would have to have been completed for months. After weighing the possibilities, this was the only thing that made sense."

"He could have used you a lot more then me," Sakura replied while staring at her folded hands that rested on the table.

"Well, that's the mental work. Anything more than theory would be way too troublesome. You know that. The physical labor part isn't my game of chess." He rubbed the back of his head as if even the thought of doing anything more was too bothersome. "I won't ask about your relation with him, or what you were there for. But what I'm curious about is why you left."

Her eyes held a saddened look in them once more. "Why, you ask?" She thought up her answer. Before she was simply kidding herself, pretending it was nothing. But, she honestly believed that someone should hear her out. There no better person for that then Shikamaru. "I really was useless. It took me a few months to realize it…but that's the truth. After all, I'm just one petty girl that collected facts for a hobby. What could someone like him want with me anyway?"

"Is that really the truth?" he asked, now leaning on his elbow. She never did answer. "Of course, I know nothing about this Sasuke person, or what kind of guy he is. Though, he certainly went through a lot of trouble to get you, and to keep you I suppose. I'm sure if he thought you were useless, you'd have been back a lot sooner then—"

"I couldn't do anything!" she interrupted. "In the end I was nothing more than a hindrance. I tried, though. Really I did. I have so much information and yet…I feel so useless. There's nothing I can come up with." She slammed a fist on the table, making the empty dishes jump.

Shikamaru waited a moment before speaking. "Are you calm now?" he paused again, and waited for her nod. "Perhaps you've had something all along. It's just sitting in front of you. You know, nothing in the information world is ever a coincidence. And if it's bothering you so much, you should go back and look at it."

Sakura stared at her hands again. The corner of her mouth curved upwards slightly. "I'm an idiot. Really, I am. I've had to be set on track by two people, who have no idea what my problem consists of. Wow, I'm the worst."

At that moment, Ino came waltzing back. "Did you miss me, folks?" she asked with a grin. "Ah. It seems we're all done here. Shall we head out?" The blonde's baby blue eyes caught the first real smile that had appeared on her friend's face all day. "You seem happier about something, Sakura. What's up?"

"I feel a little better. Thanks you two, but I think this is where I have to leave," she picked up her purse and the bag with her mystery novel inside, and headed towards the door.

"H-hey, wait a sec. Where are you going?" the other female asked.

"Home. I think I missed something. Enjoy the rest of your date, okay guys?"

"We aren't on a date!" Ino roared, but the door had already closed behind her friend. "What's up with her? What did you say to her?"

Shikamaru looked up at the blonde that was towering over him. "Hmm. Nothing really."

Ino didn't look thoroughly convinced. "If you say so," she sighed. "You're both very strange. I have the feeling you have something you aren't telling me something."

* * *

The sun was shining strong that afternoon. Not like it totally made a difference though. The blinds were drawn as to not let any cheery light inside. After all, this was not a cheery place. Actually, it had been especially dim without her there. 

But like Uchiha Sasuke would admit that out loud.

He much preferred to sit quietly behind a mask of indifference. The silence was certainly comforting for him. He'd always liked silence. Unfortunately he's been plagued with several close people who detested it. One, which was sitting in front of him at this very moment. Though, it didn't matter much now. He was being quiet.

Uzumaki Naruto sighed once, then typed some more. That noise was fine, when it happened occasionally. Sasuke continued to read over some papers. Unluckily, this was the annoying blond he was dealing with. So he sighed again. And again.

And a few more times after that.

"Would you shut up?" the enraged Uchiha said through clenched teeth. He slammed his fist down on the table for emphasis. From the corner of his eye, he'd caught Hinata, who instantly turned back where she'd come from, seeing his anger.

"Whoa, what's eating you today?" his friend asked, lowering the screen on his laptop.

"Nothing's 'eating me' as you call it," replied a still very annoyed looking Sasuke. Naruto didn't say anything back at first, just stared back, blinking his blue eyes occasionally. His onyx eyes narrowed after awhile. "You have the most idiotic expression I've ever seen. I don't know how many times I've had to tell you. So just…be quiet and I won't have to look at you."

Under normal circumstances, the blond would have probably spouted back something more foul then the Uchiha's words. But things weren't really normal yet. Not since Sakura had left. Out of all the people, Sasuke seemed to have been taking it the hardest. Not like he was wallowing in self-pity like someone else might have, he just seemed to run on a shorter fuse. It was almost like his former partner had kept whatever patience he had in check.

"Fine, Sasuke," Naruto finally said, flipping back up his screen. He began to type once more. For a moment, he'd forgotten what to write. He'd been doing that lately. Sure, he had liked Sakura. She was cute and all. But it wasn't until their mission at the dojo, where he'd first learned a little about her. And it was the first time he could tell how much Sasuke had depended on her. (If he ever voiced this towards him, he'd surely have been thrown from the common room window.) He sighed again at the thought, unintentionally of course.

"I **thought** I told you to not make a sound, idiot," the raven haired one said as calmly as possible, which in fact, wasn't all that calm. He must have been like an avalanche at this point. Even a pin dropping would set him off.

Of course, Naruto wasn't a very patient person either. It was something the two of them had in common. He slammed both hands on the table and stood up in his chair. "I am sick and tired of the way you're treating everyone lately. Unfortunately it has to be me most of the time, since everyone else has a long-time partner. I know Sakura's departure really hit you hard, but that's no reason to go around and act like you're the king. So just cut it out."

"How dare you talk to me like that?" fumed Sasuke, standing up as well. He would have also hit both hands on the table, but one was still in a sling. (The doctor said he could take it off by the end of the day, though.) "And who says it has anything to do with her? That woman has nothing to do with anything anymore."

"Well it's obviously the source of your rage. So please go find a trash can to spit out your foul mood in, because I really don't want to hear it anymore. I don't know why she suddenly left. I'm sure you do and it's eating you. Just go do something about it."

"What do you know?" he yelled, probably louder then he probably intended. The two stayed in a staring contest (more like glaring, though) for awhile, before Sasuke made a 'tch' sound in irritation. He gathered up his papers and set off towards his room. "I don't dwell on the past, Naruto," he said much quieter, "And Haruno Sakura, is the past."

There was something about the way he'd said that last comment that made the blond hold in another retort. It wasn't like anything he'd ever heard come out of his mouth. Unlike the sharp, whip-like comments he gave, this was lighter, more gentile. Like he was talking to her. Of course, he said he didn't like to linger on things of the past. But to him… Basically speaking, Naruto didn't think this was totally true. Sakura may have been gone physically. But the spirit she'd brought to her partner continued to thrive. This was the sprit Sasuke was trying to rid himself of, to no success.

Not knowing what else to do, Naruto sat back down and stared at the laptop screen. If only she'd come back.

* * *

She hadn't stayed up too late in rereading some of her notes and files over again. The softness of her bed usually made it really easy for her to sleep. But for some reason, she tossed and turned during the night. It had woken her up at four in the morning. That was certainly a first for her. 

Gazing outside the window, the only light was from the street lamps. It must have been cloudy, since there was no moon or stars. She stared out aimlessly for a moment, wondering why she was woken up so early. Perhaps this was a sign.

She stared at the closed laptop. With a sigh, she opened it again. It booted up as usual, and she began to scroll through the names once again. Rather then reading every little thing again, she simply skimmed it. This had lasted all of half an hour before she crept down to the kitchen for some hot chocolate.

It only took about five minutes before Sakura was back in the comfort of her room, sipping her drink slowly. She went back to the names again. She stopped at one name. This one had intrigued her last time.

Takashi Iwashi, one of the former vice presidents of Sharingan.

She'd found it odd at first, that he'd been a former vice president. Next to his name, it mentioned he was deceased. It looked like a fatal car accident, or something. She'd forgotten to ask someone about him. It seems it was quite recent too. In the last two years, it'd happened. It was unfortunate too. He was barely in his thirties. He'd been quite handsome too.

Looking over more of his statistics, she frowned. His birthday had been March 18th. She'd seen that on some employees. Not exactly knowing what prompted her, she pulled up all the people who had a birthday of March the 18th. There were five. Blood type AB. There was one.

Her frown deepened.

Shikamaru had once said to read beneath the facts. This made her look a little closer at the two names. They were both fairly similar in age. Actually, many things were similar. But there was something most peculiar about something. It was no more then two months after the death of Iwashi that this man had started to work at Sharingan.

'I could be making a big deal out of nothing…but…' her thoughts weighed some possibilities. Looking back at the deceased one's profile, something caught her attention, that her sharp eye had missed last time. There was a tiny section on his former affiliations. It was something called 'Red Moon'. It Red, or translated: Aka. Moon, or translated: Tsuki. Akatsuki.

Of course, now knowing that the Akatsuki was an organization of assassins, of course no one could get the job at Sharingan. That would have been all too risky. But back then, they'd have no way of knowing that such a thing existed.

But then the Akatsuki would eventually come into play. Anyone with ties would most likely have been tortured, or something along those lines. So eventually Takashi Iwashi would have to step out of the picture. This way, his secret could be taken to the grave (quite literally).

It was then when something clicked in her mind. Sakura's emerald eyes widened slightly.

"Oh my God."

* * *

**AN:** Yay! Finally done it! I should be proud of myself! The first cliffhanger of the story. I probably could have written more… but that's a nice place to stop. I think anyway. Meh. Too late now. 

Okay, a little translation note here. Akatsuki means 'dawn' in Japanese (which I'm sure most of you know). But in this case, breaking it up made sense, since Red and Moon still ended up making 'Akatsuki'. Whatever, it doesn't really matter. Otherwise, it was a very staightforward chapter.

So, next time. What was the discovery that Sakura made? And how will it affect her, and the people back at Sharingan? Only she knows. But she's a little hesitant in going back… Hopefully she can make the right decision before something horrible happens.


	10. Foes from Friends

**Starting AN: **I can certainly tell you one thing. PS2 is not good for Hinata-hime's soul. Because it simply takes away from her writing time because she must beat both the Naruto game and FFX. This is why she doesn't have a PS2. It's a good thing I have to give it back to my friend in September. XD Okay, but that's not the only reason this chapter took so long. I've been a camp counselor (9 hour work day. Not fun.) so that's what actually took up most of my time. Anyway, without further delay, since I left that cliffhanger, I shall begin zeh chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 10****  
Foes from Friends**

She skimmed things over one last time, just in case she was mistaken. But alas, everything seemed to fit into place. Even some small detail about last time. Last time she was at that place anyway.

With this new information, she went to sit on her bed. She chewed the fingernail on her thumb for a moment. It was a habit of hers, when she was nervously thinking. 'What to do?' Sakura thought frantically. 'Just when I figure something out I'm gone. Wait, wait. Why am I worrying about this? I've left, so it's none of my concern anymore. Still…it's doubtful that they figured it out.'

She thought about what it was that made her leave in the first place. Her feeling useless and responsible for her former partner's injury. That was all it was, right? It was only him she was avoiding. Well, not avoiding really. It was…well she wasn't sure what it was anymore.

"Screw you, Uchiha Sasuke," she mumbled while frowning, "I'm not doing this for your sake."

She reached into the drawer of her night table and pulled out the buried cherry flip-phone. In a matter of seconds it was on. Scrolling through her contact list, she found Tenten's number and hit the call button.

It didn't even ring. It just said the phone 'was not in service', meaning it was shut off. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only about four thirty in the morning. No wonder. 'This is good,' she thought, 'by the time someone wakes up, it'll be done.'

She tried Naruto's number, then Hinata; none of which had theirs turned on either. Lee's was on, but no one actually answered it. He probably didn't even have a subconscious thought that it was ringing. Quickly, she scanned the list once more. She was kind of running out of options. Her former partner was certainly out of the question. She stopped at Hyuuga Neji's name. They hadn't exactly been close, but he was Tenten and Lee's partner. It was a long shot but…

She hit the dial button in any case. It rang once, twice, three times… She was really fighting a losing battle. Just before Sakura was about to shut the phone shut again, there was a noise on the other end. It sounded like it had connected, but it also sounded like someone was fumbling around for something.

There was a click. A desk lamp perhaps. "Hyuuga," the voice on the other line spoke. He sounded half-asleep, but at least he was there.

The pink haired girl sighed in relief. "Neji? Oh my goodness. I didn't think anyone was going to pick up."

"Who is this?" he asked, now sounding a little more awake. "And what the hell do you want at this hour?"

"Right, sorry. Tenten. Go get her, quickly. I need to speak with her. Right this second."

"One…second…" At this point, she highly doubted Neji was in the right state of mind to argue or pursue the matter any further. The phone sounded like it hit the mattress of his bed, and the sound of a door opening meant he'd gone out.

She waited (rather anxiously at that) until she heard the door open again. A far away voice said something like: "If this isn't good I'm going to kill you…" Some shuffling noises later, a high feminine voice spoke. "Yeah?"

"Tenten, oh good. Wake up please. This is very important."

"Huh?" she said, still quite sleepily, "S-Sakura? Is that you?"

"Yes. Now listen. There's something I just discovered about the case. I might be very close to solving it. I need a ride back over there. Arrange a train for me, won't you?"

There was a yawn. "Wait…wait. What are you talking about?"

"No time to explain, just get working on that train," she commanded.

"Um…sure. I'll leave at…say five thirty. So be there two hours from then. Okay? Bye." Without another thought, Tenten closed her partner's phone, and flopped down on his bed. It was too early for this.

Sakura stared at her phone for a moment. If Tenten had gone back to sleep on her partner's bed as soon as she'd pressed the 'end call' button, she didn't know. However, she'd simply have to trust her.

She swung her legs off the bed and went to her closet. She pulled out a pair of tan cargo pants and threw on a white sleeveless shirt. She walked over to her still connected computer. She decided it would be best to inform Temari about this. According to her blonde friend, her younger brother was still working on the Akatsuki thing. She explained every part of her reasoning in detail, then read it over several times until she was satisfied that it'd be of some use. Then she sent it.

Before closing her computer, Sakura remembered something. It wouldn't be right for her to leave again without a word to her friends. However, with time ticking away, she tried to keep her letters short.

_Ino,_

_Thanks for the great time yesterday. I've been doing some thinking lately, and I think it's about time I leave and finish what I started. And no, it's not because of the hot guy. But I had people counting on me (I think). So yes. It's kind of hard to explain now. Maybe when I come back I'll tell you. Well, I'd better get going. Keep in touch._

_Sakura_

_Shikamaru,_

_After talking with the two of you yesterday, I guess it sort of convinced me to go and finished what I started. You're probably wondering what I keep disappearing off to do. When it's all over, perhaps I'll tell you. If you're still interested that is. Oh, if you ever need a job, just say so. I'll put in a good word for you. Later then._

_Sakura_

After sending her mail, she took out a sheet of paper and wrote a note to her mother. She made up a story on how a friend called and said they needed more help on the summer project. That was the reason for her short leave. She didn't exactly want to wake up her mother and explain it to her face, so a note on the fridge would have to do.

After pinning it with a magnet to the door, her green eyes caught sight of the time. "I've wasted over and hour already?" she said to herself. Picking up the kitchen phone, she called a taxi. It was unfortunate that the train station was a good half-hour away. However, if everything went right, she'd be there rather early.

Sakura rushed back upstairs to gather her belongings. She packed away her laptop, and slipped the phone into one of the pockets. Walking over to her dresser, her eyes fell upon the pendant she'd gotten from Sasuke. She fingered it for a moment, then placed it around her neck. With one last glance around her room, she headed for the front door.

When the taxi arrived, she muttered, "Train station," quite softly, but just loud enough for the driver to hear. She gazed out the window as her house got smaller and smaller. For a moment, she wondered if this was the right thing to do. 'Of course it is…' she told herself silently, 'This could save the lives of two people.'

It seemed as if she'd fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, the station was outside her window. Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was minutes before seven. She pulled out some bills and handed it to the driver, telling him to keep the change.

With a yawn, she pulled her heavy laptop out of the car and closed the door behind her. She watched it drive away. The sun was still low on the horizon when she entered the building. There weren't many people inside, which was a plus. It made her task easier.

She broke into a slight jog and slipped into the 'Employees Only' hallway. She pressed the button and listened to the quiet hum of the elevator as it moved. It was then that she noticed a security guard strolling past the opening of the hallway.

Unfortunately, he noticed her too. "Hey, you there!" the man shouted, running towards her.

"Crap," Sakura said as the doors to the elevator swung open. She rushed in and pressed the 'close door' button. Though, the guard managed to catch the double doors before they closed completely.

"What do you think you're doing, little girl?" he asked, pushing the doors apart.

Her mind went blank for a moment. She needed to calm down and think. Think… What had she learned. What had she been taught. "Sorry," she said quickly as she thrust the heel of her hand under the jaw of the guard. Then she swung her foot so her kick landed straight in his chest. It sent him flying back against the opposing wall, since the hallway was quite narrow.

Her blows seemed to have stunned him for a moment. She took that as her chance to close the doors fully and hit the unmarked button that would lead to the platform. "That…was close," she said to herself. However, just after the elevator began to move down, it had stopped. She wondered if the guard had inserted those key things that made it stop. "Great…"

She slumped down to the floor and looked up at the ceiling. What would happen to her now? They'd probably get some technician to bring the car back up. It seemed like an awful lot of trouble to catch a girl going down a service elevator that no one used. Well, she had assaulted a security guard. Which…was kind of on the illegal side of things.

Her eyes caught hold of a button next to the blank one she'd pressed earlier. This was also unlabeled. Not seeing exactly what harm it could do now that the car was stopped, she pressed it. Nothing happened. She sighed. Sitting there in the stillness, she was able to hear a faint clicking sound. It was coming from up, then down, then all around her. She clutched her laptop case.

It was probably for the best too. The elevator lurched once before falling. Sakura let out a small scream. But as surprisingly as the fall had come, it had landed with a thud. The double doors opened. She was surprised to see a familiar brunette standing in front of her.

"Wow, you're early. But what are you doing on the floor?" Tenten asked.

Shakily, the pink haired girl stood up. "W-what was that button?" She hurried out of the car, relieved to have survived the experience.

"What button? You mean the override button? Oh, that's in case the elevator ever stops for some reason. It just falls to the bottom floor. Which is this one. Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason. Let's just go," Sakura said, stepping into the ever so familiar Sharingan train. Her friend entered after her then the doors closed. A moment later the car began to move. Her green eyes stared out the window that was surrounded with the blackness of the tunnel.

"So tell me. Why did you have to wake me up at four thirty? I'm still not functioning properly…" the brunette yawned once to prove her point. Then she lay down over thee seats and closed her eyes.

"Right, I almost forgot about that," the other replied, looking at her folded hands. "I think…I know who's behind these threats on Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha. Or at least one of the main people."

This made Tenten open her eyes all the way. "Really? Who?"

Sakura told her everything she'd found out about Takashi Iwashi and how similar his information was with the other employee. "However, this could very well be wrong. That's the only thing I'm worried about. If we move to hastily and he's not the one, we could kill or torture an innocent human. But if it is him and we act too quickly, there might be others behind it that we'll never know about. That's why I think we should do it slowly, and only move if something happens."

"Oh God…I'd have never have even thought about that…" she said, rubbing her head. That was too much information at once for her to handle. "So, brainiac, what's our plan of action?"

The pink haired teen took out her laptop and consulted some files. "Well we could start with some monitoring. Get Hinata and a couple others on the phone."

Tenten did as she was told. Now that they were well above ground, she could use her cell. "Hey, Hinata? Glad your up. Listen, I have a small task for you. You might want some help too. Naruto, Kiba, and Shino perhaps… It's a monitoring thing. Numbers, umm…" she turned to her friend who was looking up the company security camera numbers. Sakura flashed the numbers with her hands. "Numbers 47, 48, 76 through 81, 122…135…yeah, that's it. Not a lot of time to explain now. Just monitor. If something fishy happens, call me back. I'm going to schedule a meeting in an hour or so, okay?" With that, she flipped her phone shut.

"A meeting sounds good. Let's say the ninth floor conference room. Message the entire department about it. But don't tell the superiors. They won't like it if it's wrong. Besides, I want everyone in the high places acting normally.

"Okay. Some are on small missions I think. There will only be about nine or ten of us then."

"It's fine." With that, she went back to looking over her data. Every time she read it over, she couldn't help but having a worse and worse feeling about it. The feeling that something bad was going to happen. Looking up, she saw her friend still writing her text message informing everyone about the mandatory meeting that would take place shortly.

She glanced at the bottom of her screen where the clock was. Exactly one hour until she'd be at the job she'd once left. Only this time, she needed to stay. This would be perhaps one of the most important days in her life.

* * *

Her green eyes stared hard into her faint reflection on the large glass doors of Sharingan. This was it. She was standing here once again. Her hand tightened around the handle of her laptop bag. Tenten swiped her card so the double doors slid open. Sakura's expression was hard. 

"Alright. Let's do this," she said mostly to herself, before the two of them walked in. The receptionist didn't even spare a glance as they made their way to the elevator. When the doors opened, she took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"You sure you're okay now?" the brunette asked in slight concern.

"Yup. Fine," the pink haired teen replied quickly.

The doors opened again and she found herself staring at the familiar ninth floor. The conference room was attached to the common room by a little door on the back wall. No one was there, except for a blond boy, carrying a laptop under his arm. Needless to say, he looked very surprised when he spotted the two females. "S-Sakura?"

She did not give him a welcoming smile. Instead, she said, "Jeez, Naruto. You were supposed to be helping Hinata with the monitoring. Didn't Tenten tell you that?"

"Well, yeah," he replied, keeping the same look on his face, "I was doing it out here. I got a memo saying there was a meeting, though, so I was moving."

"Good," Sakura said, opening the door to the meeting room. Inside, Hinata, Kiba and Shino were all stationed in front of a computer. Lee and Neji were sitting on one of the tables, not speaking to anyone. They all looked up at the sound of the door opening. Some had the same reaction as Naruto. The select others didn't seem to care. "Well, now that everyone's here, let's get started."

"Um…but we're still missing a couple p-people," Hinata said just loud enough so that Sakura could hear her.

"Yes, well, they're late then. We won't waste our time waiting, since this cannot wait at all. So, first off, everyone, thank you for showing up. The reason that I wanted to call this meeting was—" she was cut off by the door opening again.

There was also a glint of surprise in the onyx orbs of Uchiha Sasuke, who's hand was still clutching the doorknob. His hand was no longer in a sling and it seemed to be working perfectly fine as it reached up and combed some raven colored hair with his fingers. Then he shut the door quietly and stuffed both hands in his pockets before taking a seat on a free chair.

"Anyway," Sakura continued like nothing had happened, "the reason I wanted to call everyone together was that there might be a big break in the case." She paused again, but no one spoke. So she continued. "I was doing a bit more research after I left, and I think I may have discovered the person behind all of this. It is a person who has been under our noses this whole time. Hoshigaki Kisame."

"The vice-president?" Lee spoke in a rather loud tone, and jumped to his feet. "How can that be? For what reason?"

"The reason is the aspect I'm not quite sure of. But…" Sakura went on to explain everything over again. The ones on the computer looked up from their screens – even Shino, who always seemed to do as he pleased, stopped typing to listen.

"My God…" Naruto said, rubbing his head much like Tenten had earlier. Too much information at once. "That back-stabbing bastard!"

"Well then why the hell are we all sitting here for?" Kiba growled, then slammed his fist on the table. "Let's go get the bastard! We're wasting time."

"That might not be a wise idea," Neji commented. His arms were folded and he had one of those signature frowns set upon his face.

"Right, imagine if you waltzed into his office and he had many gunmen just waiting for you," Tenten agreed, "And if we're wrong and it's not him, think of all those possible things that can happen. Though time is of essence, so we need to be quick about a decision but not to hasty with our game plan."

While some of them weighed more possibilities, Hinata tapped one of her partners on the shoulder. "K-Kiba?"

"Huh? What's up?" the brunet replied, sitting back down next to her.

"Um…can you c-check the daily planner of the vice-president?"

"Hah?" was his answer that was accompanied by an odd look. Though, he did as he was asked anyway. The others continued with their discussion while he did this. "Here it is," he said somewhat proudly, since he was able to pull it up that fast. All the superiors kept electronic planners of their day.

The girl's pale eyes looked over it carefully. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Though, there was a meeting between him and some other employee that she'd never heard of before supposed to be underway as of now in his office. She looked at her computer screen that had pulled up a few of the security cameras. Kisame's office was one. He was currently staring out the window. No one else was in the room with him. She continued to watch his actions for a moment. The he walked to a corner of the office and pulled out a long black coat.

Now why anyone would keep a coat in an office was beyond her. First off, it was summer. Secondly, he worked in an office, so it wasn't as if he was going outside or anything. Hinata decided this needed to be said. "Um…" she said, hoping someone would hear.

But a few had gone onto arguing. "Well obviously we should do something today. I don't wanna just sit here!" Naruto said a little louder then necessary.

"Err…" she tried again, to no avail. Not even the ones who were quiet heard. They were too busy listening to the main argument. She took another quick glance at the screen. He was gone.

"But on what solid proof do we go on?" Lee wondered aloud.

She quickly tried another camera, but she didn't seem to find him again. She decided this really required some attention. She shut her eyes and sucked in a breath. "Excuse me!" she said loudly. Well, loud for Hyuuga Hinata. But it was enough to make everyone shut up and face her. Upon noticing all the stares when she reopened her eyes, her voice went back to normal. "U-um…Kisame is gone. H-he took a black jacket and disappeared."

"What?" most of them said simultaneously.

"Okay," Sakura said, "so lets suppose he's our guy and is on the move right now. What's our plan of action?" Everyone stayed silent. "As future head of the company, what do you suggest, Sasuke?"

Everyone turned towards the Uchiha, who hadn't spoken a word. All eyes were upon him. Slowly, he rose from his chair and clenched his fists. "We go put an end to this. Now." Then he went on telling everyone their tasks, much like the inheritor would eventually do. "You three, keep on the computers. I want him located even if you have to look at every individual camera. Lee, I want you stationed downstairs in front of the elevators and the staircase. Don't let anyone up without stating their business."

"Right!" he saluted, and bounded out the door. The stairwell door slammed a moment later.

"Hey, found him!" Kiba said. "In elevator 5, heading up."

"Can you stop it, or something?" the pink haired girl asked.

"Sure, but it'll stop all the other ones as well."

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke replied. "Right, the rest of you, follow me. You three call if something comes up."

Sasuke was first, heading down the emergency stairs. Neji was hot on his heels followed by Naruto. Tenten handed something to her female friend before the two of them followed. "You might want this back. It can come in handy sometimes."

Sakura saw it was her gun. Despite her hatred towards them, she took it anyway. "If you say so." The two of them followed the other three, who were already a floor below them.

While they were still in the stairwell, the Uchiha heir could feel the phone in his pocket vibrate. He picked it up as they all kept running. "Yeah?"

It was Kiba once again. "He escaped. It looks as if there were people from the outside who pried the door open."

"Shit…" the other cursed, "Well find him again. And monitor the fifth floor." By that, he meant his parents' office.

"Already did. But it looks like someone took out a couple of the cameras. Anyway, I'll call if something else comes up."

It took them no more then three minutes to completely rush down nine flights of stairs. They passed Lee, who was in the middle of talking to someone who wanted to get on the elevator. Unknown to both, it wasn't working anyway. They crossed the floor to the office and factory side of the building. "Naruto, you stay and monitor these stairs and this elevator. I don't want anyone else entering or leaving." The blond looked like he wanted to protest, but everyone else had gone past him already.

"We'll go up first," Tenten said, pulling her partner's hand so he could be in front. "Let us go a few floors ahead, then you follow. That way if there's any kind of ambush, we'll know about it. But, Sasuke, you should really reach Mr. Uchiha and Mom. Come on, Neji."

Surprisingly, the raven haired one didn't object, and watched the two hurry ahead of him. While he was still staring straight ahead at the stairwell, he spoke quietly. "Why'd you come back?"

Sakura looked at her former…no…partner, even though she'd been trying not to. He still sounded kind of angry, and she didn't blame him. Had the roles been reversed, she wouldn't know if she could ever forgive him. "Because… I originally left because I was just a useless person, so I thought. But I had a talk with some old friends…and well I was convinced otherwise. Then I found that little piece of information on Takashi. I thought if it was useful, I might as well return to relay it. I mean, if it could save someone, then it's worth it." She had one more reason, but decided it best not to say it.

Sasuke didn't say anything in response, just decided to follow after the two. With a sigh, the girl followed after. The other pair was already at the fifth floor. She could hear part of their quick conversation, since the stairwell echoed quite a bit.

"It's locked. The hell?" came Neji's voice.

"Well move. I'm going to kick it open then," Tenten said. A few seconds later there was a loud bang, which was, presumably, the door being forced open. Then their footsteps were no longer heard, as they'd entered the landing.

"It's too quiet," the raven-haired teen commented. "Something's wrong. Be on your guard." He reached behind and took out his gun from its holster. Sakura had had it in her hands the entire time, but now she simply discarded the case.

Upon finally reaching the fifth floor, their worst fears were confirmed. On one side was the brunette, her gun discarded at her feet. A man of about similar height had his elbow around her neck in a chokehold, while the other hand had a gun to her head. Neji looked as if he'd been caught from behind, since he was lying on the ground, another man pinning one of his wrists over his head. This man also held a gun.

Upon seeing the two enter, one momentarily took his weapon off the brunet, and pointed it at the two. "Don't ever take your eyes off your hostage," Neji said, using the opportunity to wrench his hand free and elbow him in the stomach.

Sasuke had managed to kick the firearm from the woman's captor's hand. Then she managed to also use her elbow as a weapon.

"You two go. We've got this down," Tenten said with a nod, though she was still catching her breath.

"Right," Sakura said, and the two rushed off again. The stairs were a little farther from the office than the elevator was. It was still a pretty straight line. By now, running down nine flights of stairs, across the building, and up another five floors had really gotten to them. They could hear angry voices from further in.

When they were about a meter away, there was a short but loud noise. It caused the Uchiha's blood to run cold. He'd stopped dead in his tracks, his hand just inches away from the gold-painted doorknob. He could feel a drop of sweat run down the side of his face. He'd barely noticed that his partner was the one who'd sort of shoved him out of the way to open the door.

The first thing she saw was Hoshigake Kisame in his long black trench coat with red clouds. And holding a gun. Simply upon instinct, she pointed her weapon and shot it. This time, a little more accurately then the last. Her shot hit the other's firearm. The impact caused him to drop it.

Kisame turned towards her, a cold and menacing glare on his face. The look scared her, and it was as if it'd frozen her in place. Then she heard another shot fired. Since she was facing forward, she saw Kisame clutch his front as he sunk to the ground. Then she whipped her head back to stare at Sasuke.

His arm was fully extended so that his gun would certainly not miss. His breathing was slow yet heavy. On his face was the deadliest expression probably ever known to mankind.

Sakura had almost forgotten who else was in the room with them. Looking towards the back of the office, she saw Uchiha Mikoto sitting on the ground. Her husband's head was on her lap. "Oh, God," she whispered and ran over towards the presidents. Sasuke also did the same, but managed to give the undead Kisame a kick in the head before rushing to his parents' side.

Mrs. Uchiha's hands were covered with blood. (Sakura had to bite down on her bottom lip to refrain from screaming and to keep herself conscious.) She stroked his cheek. His eyes were closed, and there was no frown upon his face as usual. Fugaku simply looked peacefully asleep.

Sakura looked across the still-lying body to her partner. He'd dropped his gun and was moving one hand closer to his father's face. He stopped partway and instantly retracted it. Then he curled his hands into tight fists and slammed them on the wooden floor. "Damnit!"

It was then that the two that were previously fighting rushed in. Tenten covered her mouth at the sight, and her partner put on an uncomfortable face. "Get this guy out of here. Don't let him die yet, though, since there will be people who want to question him," Sasuke said in a rather quiet tone, standing up. "Get the medical team up here to look at Mom as well. And…let the others know."

They nodded and proceeded to remove Kisame from the room. He coughed up a little bit of blood, but had made a nifty makeshift bandage with his coat.

"He pushed me out of the way…" the female Uchiha's voice said softly. "It all happened so quickly. At least there was no pain." Her voice started to quiver near the end of her sentence. But she was not the first to cry. Sakura had her hands up to her eyes, and her shoulders shook. Both Uchiha's looked upon her. "Why do you cry? Why do you cry for someone who you have next-to never met?"

The pink haired teen removed her hands from her eyes, letting the tears run freely down her face. "You don't have to know the person well to be sad. When a life is taken away, I think that everyone should be sad." Then she thought about the relationship between her and her partner. Ironic how he'd done the exact same thing. Like father like son.

Mikoto gave a saddened smile in return. "Is that so…"

Sasuke then turned on his heel and hastily exited the room. His footsteps echoed against the marble floors outside, then they were joined by many others. Most likely, it was the medical team. Sure enough, a moment later, four people came in. The only female went over to the Lady Uchiha's side, and helped her to her feet, as the three men dealt with the lifeless body of the head of Sharingan.

"Oh, Sakura," the female Uchiha called back, just before she was led out of the office, "Won't you take care of my son?"

She nodded, wiping the tear stains from her face. The medics had left just as quickly as they'd come. This left Sakura alone. There was so much blood everywhere. On the once perfectly polished wood floors. She imagined they'd never quite be clean. And even if they were, the memory of crimson staining the ground would always remain. She rose to her feet and they carried her out onto the marble floors. There were spots of blood all over. All this was making her light-headed. She was very cautious on her way down the stairs because of this.

At the bottom, she saw Naruto looking half confused and half distressed. Then he caught a glimpse of Sakura. "Hey Sakura! What happened? I just saw Sasuke rush past here and it looked like he was covered in blood and—are you okay, Sakura? You look rather pale." His blue eyes watched her stumble forward. She'd have tripped if he hadn't been there to catch her. "Hey, hey. Get a hold of yourself."

"N-Naruto…" she finally managed to speak again. "I…we…were too late. He…got to him." She shut her eyes tightly as more tears began to fall.

"Then…they…his parents are…"

"No. He'd only managed to get him. Lady Uchiha is…well…physically fine."

"Well!" the blond boy said, trying to lift the girl's spirits ever so slightly, "At least you got there in time to save one life. That's a plus…isn't it?"

But this only made her sobs harder. "It isn't good enough! Don't you get it? We were so close! So…close…" The two of them just stood there while Sakura stopped her crying. Eventually it was reduced to just sniffles. Then Naruto offered to take her back upstairs. Hinata had called saying they should be running smoothly again. On the short trip up, she removed the stains from her face.

"You sure you're alright?" the blond asked, worry certainly present in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I really get over-emotional with things like this. Even on television. But really, I'm fine. I'm…just going to lie in my room for awhile," she said, putting on a small and forced smile. To reassure him further, she took his hand in both of hers, and squeezed it.

"A-alright then," he said, "I'll go…uh…see how Hinata and them are holding up. If you ever need me, though, just ring."

"Okay," she said, giving a small wave as he walked off. Then she turned down the hallway where her room was. It was surprising. She'd just come back no more then two hours ago, but it felt like she'd never left. Her laptop was sitting in its case in front of her door. She presumed Hinata had brought it over. In one of the front pockets was her little key ring. She opened the door to her room and looked inside it. Nothing had changed and it looked as if no one had moved anything around. She put her computer inside, and looked across the hall. At his door.

Sakura shut her door quietly and stood outside her partner's room. Her promise to Lady Uchiha was still fresh in her mind. Swallowing, she rapped lightly on the wood. She tried a little harder when there was no response. Again, she heard nothing. "Sasuke? You're in there, right? Come on, answer me." But again, she didn't hear a reply. Then she fished out her keys, remembering that she had one for his room as well. "I'm coming in, okay?"

She turned the key and heard the lock click open. At first, she opened it very slowly, peeking inside. It only occurred to her at that moment that she'd only been inside his room once before. "Sasuke?" she asked, looking around. She spotted the familiar head of raven hair over near the back of the room. It looked as if he was sitting on his leather couch.

After shutting the door behind her, she walked over. "Hey…you hanging in there okay?" she asked. Again, he didn't answer. She sighed, assuming that was a 'no'. She walked around and sat on the opposite side of the sofa. Her green eyes shifted to look at him.

Sasuke was staring at the blank wall in front of him. He said nothing. Just sat there like a stone. He didn't even look like he was blinking anymore. Then he felt a cool hand upon his cheek. That seemed to bring him back to reality. It was his turn to look over.

Sakura was smiling sadly. She looked like she was going to cry again. "You know…when you're sad like this, it's okay to cry. Even if it's just a little."

"Oh please," he finally spoke, even if it was quietly. When she moved a little closer, he asked another question. "Why are you here?"

"Because. I made a promise with your mother. To take care of you. But…I'm not quite sure how to do that yet."

He removed the hand from his face with the same impassive expression. "That's stupid…" He never did take his onyx orbs off her, though. She was starring at the floor once again. Then her shoulders began to shake.

"S-Sasuke…do you…" she paused to sniffle a bit, "Do you…want me to stay with you tonight?"

She looked back over with glossy eyes. One tear that was caught on her lashes escaped and slowly moved down her face. With a sigh, he reached over and brushed it away with his thumb. Somehow, the look in her eyes seemed to say: "Can I stay with you tonight?" instead of the question she'd asked.

So after awhile, he replied, "Sure."

* * *

**AN: **Hah. I always knew I couldn't write fight/action scenes. This just strengthens my theory more. Hope that wasn't too confusing. I tried. I really did. And did anyone catch the 'override button' on the elevator? Totally inspired by the Tower of Terror. 

Anyway. I'm bored with this story. Too bad, cuz at the beginning I was really hyped to write it. But I've come up with a new SasuSaku fic that I'm dying to write. Don't worry, though. I'm finishing this. Even if it kills me. Which I'm sure it won't. But whatever. I'm blathering again.

Don't expect a chapter for at least a month. I'm going away on vacation tomorrow for a couple weeks. To New York City and then to the beaches in North Carolina. I really like the Carolinas. So pretty. Yup. I really am spouting randomness. So, next time: Most of Sharingan is still distraught about the previous day's events. To get away from the tense atmosphere, Sakura goes back to Blue Castle. But what's this? Sasuke jealous? (Of course not.) And oh dear. Gaara's got some bad news as well.


	11. Mom

**Starting AN: ** I said a month, didn't I? And it's been just over. So I guess I did well with estimating the time. Well, it's that time again. The dreaded place we know as school. Yes, this year I need to work hard! (Things start to count.) So that takes a chunk of time set out for writing. Not like I did much in the summer though. Oh well.  
Last chapter I said I was bored with this fic. Well, nothing much has changed. I guess that's why I had so much trouble writing all the parts. Except for the very beginning. Hm. Oh well. I hope I did a decent job with wasting space. Haha.

**Chapter 11  
Mom**

_I should be used to it. I was brought into this world knowing what my role in the family would be. I guess it was a little unfair for a young child such as myself, but some things taught me I shouldn't complain. At least I was rich. Basically, I could have whatever I wanted._

_It wasn't like the occasion when I got to actually step out into the real world. I'd look at the different sized houses, and the different people on the street. It was strange. Fascinating even. Well at the time anyway. I was probably around 8. I'd ask her, "Why does that man sit on the curb like that? Is it comfortable there, even if it's raining? And why are his clothes all dirty and torn in some places?"_

_See, because I grew up only knowing how to get whatever I wanted, it would have been foolish to think that I'd knew that not everyone had money in the world. She explained this to me once. The difference between the classes. And how we were one of the fortunate ones._

_But were we? Being so young, I didn't exactly have a lot of freedom. And he and she were constantly busy from the time I woke up until the time I'd sleep. So for the whole day I'd have lessons with my teachers, then I'd watch something on television, read a book, or head downstairs to practice some sport or the like._

_Sure it was great having everything run by your schedule. But it wasn't at all fun. So you could say I was deprived of a real childhood. I discovered this fact early on as well, since I usually was good at noticing little things like that. I don't remember now what the book was called. It wasn't that great, considering I don't remember what it was about. But I've always remembered the ending. It went something like how the protagonist came to be happy in the end because, even though he'd lost something (again, I don't remember what it was), he still had his family there by his side. They said they'd always be there for him no matter what. And the same with his friends._

_At first, I put it down and muttered something like, "What a ridiculous book." But as time passed, I couldn't help but think back to it. Family? Closeness? This was something I'd never really experienced. And it wasn't until this time that I'd realized that it hurt. Being alone. It was something worse then getting the wind knocked out of you when your teacher flipped you over during karate practice._

_I probably wasn't so good at hiding this fact. She was the one who always noticed. She never spent so much time with me, but it seemed that she knew me just as well if she'd spent everyday by my side. "What's wrong, dear? Why do you have such a sad look in your beautiful eyes?" she'd ask._

_I'd just look away and say, "It's nothing." But it was all in vain. She knew. She must have seen what the face of loneliness looked like._

_I spent a lot of time gazing out the window. Being a little older, I started to wonder what it was I was missing all these years. Was life really like what it was on TV? I wouldn't have known. I couldn't have known._

_She took me into town more often when I was older. I'd look more so at the people then the scenery this time. I'd see some teenagers hanging out around a store, or something. They looked like they were having the greatest time in the world, even just standing there. I didn't understand. Then we'd pass a young child, holding both their parents' hands. The child was wearing a big grin. Why? I didn't understand. What was it about family and friends that I didn't understand? Why did the character in that book end up happy after loosing something?_

"_Hey, Sasuke," she said one day, when she paused outside a shop, "Your teacher says you're doing quite well with your studies. I always knew you'd be smart. It makes a mother proud." I remember looking at her, confused, for a moment. Then I smiled. Because it made me happy to be praised, to be noticed in that way. But it wasn't complete happiness. I knew it'd never be. Simply because it would never be a complete family. Ever since that man one day disappeared, he never did like to pay me much mind._

_And she couldn't always be around. I'd just go back into my secluded spot after the lessons. There was no one I could really talk to. There were no children in a company that manufactures arms. Sometimes I didn't recognize my own voice when I spoke. _

_Until one day. That was the day that made me think a little more about the world. She'd gone out without me one day. She didn't come until very late. I remember. I was twelve at the time. Being the soft-spoken person I was at the time, I put my book down when she entered my room but said nothing. "I brought you back something, Sasuke."_

_Imagine my surprise when it was a scowling blond kid. He was about my age. He looked at me for a moment, sort of glaring. Then he clung back to her arm. Had I been the naïve eight-year-old, perhaps I might have asked: "Did you buy a friend for me?" But that wasn't how it worked. I knew it._

"_Poor kid," she said, ruffling his hair like she used to mine, "Can you imagine someone living on the street at this age? But it's okay now. You can have a home here, and when the time is right, you'll pay me back. Call me Mom, okay, Naruto?"_

_At first, I wasn't too thrilled at the new arrangement. Naruto was a loud-mouthed brat who always talked about his ambitions. But he was at least a person. And I was no longer alone. So before I knew it…I guess we ended up respecting each other. Becoming friends. But I will never say that out loud._

_But it didn't stop there. One day a couple years later, she brought two more kids home with her. "Sasuke, Naruto. This is Kiba, and this is Shino. They bumped into me on my way home from the town today. Sad, isn't it? They were just like you, Naruto. But now that you all are older, you can begin to do things around here. And if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come see me. Call me Mom."_

_My world was drastically changed from one of aloneness to one filled with people like me. Alone. Yet together. All because of her. Was she some sort of saint? I began to wonder this. Or perhaps she wanted to give these kids a chance._

_Lee, Neji and Tenten came as a package later on. The first had been a street kid for as long as he remembered, the second was thrown from his house. The girl's parents died a year earlier. They'd coincidentally met up and stuck together. And again, she'd brought them home with her._

_It got me thinking again. Thinking that perhaps the teenagers I'd seen hanging out together or the child walking with his family were one of the lucky ones. Because money didn't bring contentment. But there was proof in front of my eyes that I wasn't the only one who was deprived of a childhood. In fact, I might have been lucky. Which seemed ridiculous. Because I wasn't lucky. Well…perhaps I was in a way._

_The girl Hinata came a year after her cousin. She'd run away from her home (for a reason I did not bother to ask). Somehow, she'd found her and brought her here. Being seventeen at this point, I found it meaningless to keep on bringing more and more of these unfortunate people to work for our company. I was no longer alone, which was the original reason she'd brought Naruto in the first place. At least, that's what I speculate._

_So when the threats came out of the blue, I didn't exactly know what to do. It wasn't until then that I'd realized what might happen. I never imagined what it'd be like if she and he were gone. Would I become one of those kids that she'd brought in? No. I wouldn't. Because if she was gone, who would be there to say, "Call me Mom"?_

_Then it was Sakura's turn. She, unlike the others, had a family, had friends. And she didn't bring her here. I did. Maybe her habit is rubbing off on me. But we pick up different kinds of people. _

_There was something very different about Sakura from Naruto, or any of the other people that were brought here. She had a different air. Probably because she never went through the same experience that we did. It was annoying. Her presence was annoying. Because she reminded me of the one thing I lacked._

_Happiness._

_But as time went on, that feeling began to dissipate. She didn't become a part of the family, like her and him. She didn't become a friend, like Naruto and the others. It was something that I didn't exactly know what to call it, or how to place it. And for now, I don't think I will place it or call it anything. It isn't exactly important now in any case._

He'd been awake for awhile. The recent events made it hard for him to sleep. Besides, he was a light sleeper. That, and he wasn't used to another person lying at such close proximity. His eyes were fixed to the ceiling, staring at the light fixture that was currently off. It certainly had to be the morning, since there was sunlight pouring through the window on the far side of the room.

Stifling a yawn, Sasuke finally decided to get up from his bed. He glanced quickly at the figure still lying still. She didn't stir the slightest bit. He assumed she wasn't going to be awake for a long time. After all, yesterday had been stressful. Amongst other things.

He used this opportunity to take a quick shower. He let the steaming-hot water run for awhile. He didn't exactly know how long he'd stood there watching the steam rise, but it must have been quite a long time. Throwing off his nightshirt, he couldn't help but notice the scar on his left forearm. It didn't hurt anymore, but it was still painful. The memory was painful.

A few minutes (and much hot water wasted) later, he was already in his change of clothes and towel-drying his hair. He glanced over to his bed, where she was still sleeping. It was almost nine, according to the clock, so he assumed he'd let her sleep-in enough.

He walked over and sat on her side of the mattress. He placed his hand on the side of her cheek. She stirred at the contact. "Hey…wake up now," he said softly.

"Ngh," was the first sound that came out of her mouth. She winced slightly and slowly lifted her eyelids. Her vision was blurry for a moment but it didn't take long before she realized who'd called out to her. "Sasuke!" Sakura sat up straight. "What…" The memories of the day before came flooding back and she covered her mouth.

"Hey, hey, don't start crying again," he said, rising to his feet. He waited until her sniffles had died down. "I know what you're thinking. But it's fine. I can't let it get to me."

The girl placed her feet on the floor but never did get up. Instead, she simply sighed and looked at her partner's back. "Fine. But…what happens now then?"

The raven-haired teen thought for a moment. "Get dressed and freshen up. We'll talk then." He noticed she'd moved to his side, and offered a small smile. He was about to shoo her off when there was a knock on the door. Sakura went and hid along the wall, so the person at the door couldn't see her.

"Mornin' Sasuke!" saluted Naruto when the other opened the door. "How's life? You hanging in there alright?"

The Uchiha continued to stare blankly at the blond boy in front of him. "What do you want, Naruto? You never drop in to talk."

"Well you're in a fine mood, as usual. But I guess that means you're holding up as good as any other day," he grumbled. "Anyway, have you seen Sakura? I've been…wanting to talk to her."

Sasuke instinctively glued himself closer to the wall, just in case the other happened to peek inside. If that idiotic blond saw the girl in her sleepwear in his room, who'd know what he'd think. Worse, who knew what rumor he'd spread and how quickly it'd mutilate into something worse. "Why do you automatically assume I've seen her? I'm not her keeper." While speaking, he kept his poker face.

"Eh…no. I was just wondering because I knocked on her door and there was no answer. And Hinata hasn't seen her either." He paused for a moment, then put on a puzzled face. "Are you…hiding something?"

"No," the Uchiha replied a little too quickly. He cleared his throat and continued normally. "Why did you assume that?"

"Hmm. You're acting a little odd. I think…nah, I know you better then that, Sasuke. I **know** you're hiding something. But **what** might that be?" Naruto stood in a dramatic thinking pose. In the mean time, Sakura, who was thinking much on the same level as her partner, walked over behind him, positioning herself so that the blond couldn't see her. "Doesn't it make sense that I'd have to come in and make sure."

"What are…" Sasuke started, trying to block the other from entering. Sakura was going to use this time to slip past her partner and run across the hallway.

It seemed that fate (or in this case, Naruto) would not have that. "Jeez. We're both guys and have been friends for a long time," he said, pointing a finger in the Uchiha's face. This made him take a step back, pinning the girl to the wall. She almost made a grunting sound at the impact. Mental note: kill Naruto later. "Because I can see through that hard façade of yours, man. It isn't fooling me this time around."

"Whatever," he said, trying his best to make sure that she was still hidden. Well, Naruto still hadn't noticed yet. He reached into his pocket casually and grabbed his key ring. He handed it back so she could run across and open her door. "But make it quick. I have some things to do today."

"Hmm…" the blond said, walking this time fully through the entranceway. He looked like a detective investigating a crime scene. Sakura used this time to dash across the hall and into her own room, right before the snooping male turned around.

Once she was safely behind her door, she let out a sigh of relief. It was a little too early for misunderstandings, hidings and being squashed to walls. When she had the strength to move again, she wandered over to her desk. It was then she noticed she'd left her laptop on all night. "Jeez…what a waste of electricity…"

She pulled it out of its hibernating mode. Her inbox was the first thing she saw. "Eh? A new email?" recognizing the address, she opened it. It was from Temari. "Ah…I completely forgot about meeting up with them. And that dance whatever thing. Shoot…I have to talk to him again."

With that in mind, she went to take a shower.

---0--0---

"Ah, you're up late, Sakura," Tenten commented upon seeing her friend finally appear in the common room. The brunette took a sip of her green tea, then set it back down on the table. "Well, no one's blaming you. No one's really working today anyway, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah…" the other commented, looking around. "Hey, did, um, Sasuke pass by here by any chance? There's something I need to take up with him."

"Hmm…I wonder. He left a little while ago. Try Kakashi's office maybe?" she suggested with a shrug.

"Alright. See you later then." The pink haired girl gave the other a pat on the shoulder with an added smile. It was a little 'hang in there' gesture. She could tell the other girl was still as shaken as she was about the previous day's events. The elevator ride seemed longer and quieter then usual. There was no one in the lobby, which was unusual for a Tuesday. When Tenten has said that no one was working, she really meant it.

The second elevator ride seemed almost as long as the first. When the doors opened, she saw that there were actually people wandering about. None of them actually paid any attention to the opening of the doors, nor did they stop to greet her as they normally did.

Like she'd done the trip a thousand times before, she walked through the maze of offices and cubicles until reaching Kakashi's door. She knocked on the entrance. After a moment, she heard a, "Come in," from the inside.

Sakura opened the door and looked around. Was this really his office? One could actually see the polished hardwood floor. The shelves were neat with binders full of different papers. Even the desk was clear, except for a pad of paper and some writing utensils. "Is the world ending?" she asked, trying her best to lighten the mood.

He gave a smile back. "Nope. But nothing's happening now and I needed something productive to do. That's what usually happens when I have nothing to do. Even though it should be the reverse of things. Anyway, what brings you around this morning, Sakura?"

"I was wondering if you've seen Sasuke around. Someone said I could find him here," she explained. Then she caught the slightly arched eyebrow from her superior. "It's not like that. There's something I need to ask him." Her cheeks were colored slightly, knowing what the other had originally been wordlessly implying.

"He was up here. But you missed him. I sent him off to be with the President. She is in need of family right now, I should think. You should find him there," the silver haired man informed. Sakura thanked him, and made her way back to the elevator.

Reaching the top floor, she glanced around the grand lobby. It certainly was different looking at it now then when she'd first laid eyes upon it. Even though there were no stains, she could still imagine the splattered blood all over the perfect marble floors. With a quick glance at the lion statues, she noticed a crack along one of them. Perhaps even the figures were sad.

The mahogany doors were open, so she could glance freely inside. Her partner was sitting opposite to his mother, putting some papers into files. The two weren't talking. But if she was in their situation, she wouldn't have known what to say either.

It was the President who noticed the girl's presence at the door. "Sakura, Sakura. Why are you standing out there? Come and sit," the raven haired female motioned for her to enter. The other did as she was told, taking the chair next to Sasuke. "How are you this morning?"

"Holding up, I guess," the pink haired girl said truthfully. "But I won't stay too long. I just wanted to… ask Sasuke something." There was more silence, so she assumed she should just flat out ask, now that she had his (plus his mother's) undivided attention. "Err, you remember Temari from when I was at Blue Castle, right? Well, I kind of forgot I had made her a promise to be in this dance show-thing. It's on pretty soon, so I have to let her know if I can attend or not."

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, but the President beat him to it. "Why, isn't that lovely? It's just fine to take a few days off. Nothing much will be happening. I'll arrange a train for you shortly. Oh, but it's a shame that I can't come. I'd love to watch," Mikoto said happily, like it was her own child performing. Sakura didn't understand how she could act so cheerful, since her husband had just died less then 24 hours ago. "Though, Sasuke will have to go of course."

"Mom…" he finally managed to say, "I'm needed here right now. I can't go."

"Oh, nonsense, Sasuke. You honestly find paperwork enjoyable?" his mother asked.

"Um, no really it's okay. I'll go by myself. Thank you so much," Sakura said.

The other female sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. But I'll be sure to send my son along for the final performance. I'm sure you'll be great, Sakura. Do your best!" She looked at her child. "Why don't you escort her to the elevator?"

The two walked out of the room and down the hallway in silence. The only noise was their footsteps echoing against the stone floor. When they arrived at the lift, he turned to his partner. "When you get there, call me. We still need to go over some lose ends. And I want to meet with that Gaara guy. Perhaps he has something useful."

She nodded. "Take care of yourself," she said quietly before stepping into the elevator.

---0--0---

"Well, we had a bunch of things happen, so some of the routines got changed around," the blonde female explained, leading Sakura through the unfamiliar corridors of the local theater. The pink haired girl's photographic memory was triggered on while listening to her friend. "So basically we scrapped your old routine. But you shouldn't have a problem picking up the new one. I have faith in you."

"Thanks…I think," the other female said, looking quickly into any open door as she passed. They were empty studios, for the most part. "So what kind of thing am I doing exactly? Because if it's anything with martial arts, count me out."

Temari laughed. "What are you talking about?" The green-eyed teen shook her head, signaling her to forget it. "Anyway, we've decided to do a modern tango sort of dance. So, have fun with that. Your partner is waiting for you."

"Great…I should have fun learning this one," drawled Sakura. "Oh well. I've watched…some movies with that sort of dancing in it. I'll pick it up easily."

The other chuckled once again. "That's what the others in the group said. It's easier said then done." The blonde turned into a dance studio. There was another person siting in the corner. He had long dark hair, braided in the back. He wore a black sleeveless top with the same color pants. "Hey, Sumaru! Your lady is here."

He opened his golden colored eyes. "Hey," he greeted both ladies, standing up. "Glad you could make it…uh…"

"Sakura," she said, extending her hand.

"Pleasure," he replied, shaking it. "So…you've never tangoed before?"

"No…but I'm a fast learner. If you have some patience, we can get it done," she said, giving a small smile. She turned to her blonde friend, who was on her way out the door, mouthing something like, 'Be back later.'

Sumaru didn't return the smile. He simply nodded. "Right. Well we don't have a lot of time to get this down. Let's start." It was her turn to nod, while he went to turn on the stereo. She took off her street shoes and slipped on a pair of dance shoes (that were so conveniently stashed in her collection of footwear in the closet back at Sharingan).

"First thing's first," the boy explained, "Your position. Here. Your left hand is on my shoulder. Your right hand is with mine here." He placed his free hand on her waist. "Okay, that seems like a good distance. But if you find it difficult to move, don't hesitate to come closer." This time, he gave a small smirk.

This guy somehow reminded her of _him_. She almost laughed at how similar. Both were precise and went straight down to business. And both seemed to have a small playful side way deep down. "Sorry," she apologized, "but I do have a boyfriend."

His smirk broadened. "I didn't mean it like that, Sakura. But let's leave the jokes out of this, shall we? Just do a follow-the-leader thing. Follow my lead." He took two short steps backwards. Then he took one long step, which she mimicked. "Okay, stop. When you do the long step, you go with your heel first, then glide with the back leg."

"Okay, got it," she noted. They continued.

For the most part of the day (they started at ten in the morning) they made progress. Sakura was more or less used to working with someone like Sumaru, considering all the time she'd spent with Sasuke. She found that with her amazing memory, the tango steps were simple to copy. To a certain extent. Some moves took more practice. Things like a twirl then a deep dip.

"Twirl…good," the male spoke, then placing an arm midway down her back. "Now dip." For the first time, their bodies were awkwardly placed. But being the somewhat experienced dancer that he was, he managed to shift slightly to make it easier. "Go lower," he instructed.

"I can't go lower!" protested the other, who was looking at the room from an upside down angle.

"Yes you can," he pressed on, "If you lifted your free leg and arched your spine a little more, you'll be surprised how low you can go."

"Ow…" she complained, but did as she was told. It turned out he'd been right. However, he was still supporting her. It made her somewhat nervous that he was towering over her in that way. If he slipped, she was the first to feel the pain. "If you drop me, I'll kill you!"

Other than small problems like that, the duo worked relatively flawlessly. Temari came on the occasion to check up on them. She'd heard from her twin brother that Sumaru could be…quite a handful at times. But at the end of the day, he didn't seem all that worked up.

"I'm dying…" Sakura informed her friend, after exiting the theater. "My feet feel like I've just walked halfway across the country and back. And I have to do this tomorrow too?"

"Glad to see you enjoyed things," the blonde said, leading the way to her family's limo, which was parked out in front. "Well on the bright side, only one more full day. Then on the third is the dress rehearsal and performance. So it's not that bad."

"Speak for yourself," the other said, flopping down on the leather seats. "My feet will be so swollen tomorrow they won't be able to fit into my shoes. And all you do is go around all day. Man, I wish I was the co-coordinator."

"What can I say? Some people were just born to lead."

---0--0---

The next day went similar to the first. The only real difference is that they worked on the routine, rather than the basics. Her feet were still hurting, but after awhile they just grew numb. "Come forward, two, three. Now to the side, step…ready?" Sumaru asked his dance partner. She nodded. The placed both hands on her waist and lifted her up, and put her down after doing a 90 degree pivot. "Good, good. Just next time, try doing something with your foot, instead of just staying still."

"Okay," she said, looking into the studio mirror that lined the wall. This was how she noticed someone standing at the door. Turning around, she recognized the figure as Temari's short, redhead brother. Gaara. Sumaru also seemed to notice him. "Excuse me, can we take a small break? I just need to talk to him."

She didn't even wait for an answer, knowing that this was much more important than tango dancing. "Hey, Gaara. Long time no see. What's up?"

His pale green eyes didn't flicker. He stayed in the same position: arms crossed, and an unreadable expression upon his face. "Where's the other?"

"Not here yet," she explained, holding in a sigh. What was it with everyone and being so straightforward? "He'll be here tomorrow afternoon. But I presume Temari has filled you in on what happened."

He nodded. "Unfortunate. But there's an exchage between one of my father's underlings and a higher Akatsuki member. But he won't be here in time, I should think. Tell him for me."

"Will do. Thanks for all your help, by the way," Sakura bowed in respect. The short boy said nothing, and simply turned on his heel to leave. It seemed stupid that she was here. What was everyone doing back at Sharingan? They were stuck in that gloomy atmosphere, and she was dancing her troubles away. With a sigh, she went back into the dance studio.

---0--0---

On the third day (she was very thankful that it was the third day for that matter) she was handed her costume. It was a black dress that went just below the knees. It was quite light which made it easier to move. The shoes…well, they were a different story. They were platform, of sorts, but still had a tall heel. Apparently that was the 'normal' footwear… but Sakura just didn't buy it.

Not that she could complain. Because if Sumaru was really anything like Sasuke, she knew what tantrum (of sorts… though it was more like a silent treatment, which was basically the same thing) he'd throw. So she forced herself to bear with the pain that was piling on top of more pain for a few more hours.

The stage was quite like they described it in the movies, yet, it didn't capture the same feelings of anxiety. The bright lights that shone down made it almost impossible to see the audience. She wondered if that was simply to illuminate the stage, or get rid of stage fright.

Her high heels clacked upon the stage, as she walked over to her partner, who was standing near the left wing. There would be three couples doing the routine. This made Sakura feel somewhat better, knowing that the spotlight wouldn't only be on them (they'd only been doing it for two days, after all).

The green-eyed girl recognized the other two girls. The one in the center was Arisa (from her calculus class) and the one near the right wing was Janice (from chemistry class). Not like they'd remember her, but she was fine with that.

"Alright, people," Temari called, jumping up onto the stage. She used her script and rolled it into a makeshift megaphone. "Let's do this right. I don't want to spend all day here. So let's just keep in our areas, keep the timing and we can all get out of here that much faster. You can get some rest, do whatever until tonight. Okay, start the music then. Places. Bring the curtain down, then up, then start the music." The stage manager nodded and spoke into an earpiece.

The curtain came down. "Ready to go, Sakura?" her partner asked quietly.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, freezing in place when the curtain began to rise. Remembering the steps was actually quite a feat for her, even with her great photographic memory. Still, the duo managed through the dress rehearsal without much of a problem.

The show was to be at six that evening. So for the rest of the afternoon, Sakura simply hung around the auditorium. She watched many groups practice their routines. Some were better then others. She wasn't paying much attention, since she let her mind wander to the matter back at the company.

Sasuke should be on his way by now. He'd said he was coming when she called a couple days earlier. But she was worried for Mikoto. To Sakura, it seemed that Lady Uchiha always put others first. She was certainly a kind woman. But there was something about that which made the pink haired detective uneasy. It was as if the ordeal wasn't over just yet. However, she didn't have any suspicions to go with, so she let the thought slide. Right now, she was just hoping that six would come a lot faster then the rate it was going at.

Though, much finger drumming, pacing back stage and many sudokus later, it was already half past five. Sakura got redressed into her black outfit and proceeded to fix her hair. She tied it into a high ponytail with a black (who would have guessed?) hair tie. Makeup wasn't exactly her style, but she settled for a light lip-gloss.

There was a knock on the dressing room door. "Ready yet?" the blonde asked, poking her head in. "It's almost time, and you guys are on third." Her hair was up in its usual four buns, but she worse a light purple dress. Nothing fancy, but she was the hostess, so she had to be somewhat presentable. "Oh yeah…I saw what's-his-name a little while ago. Kankuro took him to one of the balconies I think."

"Really now. So he did show after all," the pink haired teen said with a small smile.

"Why? You didn't expect him to show? What faithlessness you have in him." The two laughed and went upstairs to the backstage area.

Now all she could do was wait for her turn. While the first group then second disappeared from the waiting area, something made her insides churn. It made her want to have her number over before it even started. Her dance partner, who noticed her fidgeting, cocked his head to the side. "You nervous?"

"A little," she replied, but that wasn't the reason for her sudden change in attitude. It was the same feeling she got when she'd overlooked a small yet important detail to something. "But it's nothing I can't handle," she reassured him, "Let's just go up and do this."

After the dance was finished, she thanked Sumaru for all his help and rushed to get changed. While she never did get to see her real partner sitting in the audience, she knew he'd be ready in the main foyer waiting. Within ten minutes, she was done.

She really would have stayed longer, but she knew that her time to leave was now. Sure enough, she found the Uchiha leaning against the frame of one of the many front doors. He nodded his head upon seeing her. "God," she told him, "I am **so** glad that's over with. My feet have gone beyond numb, if that's possible."

"Well, that was all your choice," Sasuke said, putting the usual unreadable expression on his face. "But who was that person you were with?"

"You mean…Sumaru? My dance partner? What about him?"

He put on a frown. "His hands were all over you. It was rather hard to watch."

Sakura giggled. So even the mighty Uchiha got jealous. "It's just dancing, Sasuke." Her laugher died down, and the feeling of uneasiness returned. "Oh yeah! We have to meet Gaara now. He said he'd be this way." She pulled him by the hand out of the theater and onto the street. The traffic was still heavy, it being one of the main streets in town. They walked down the block and turned the corner. "He said the back of the building…I wonder where in the back."

"Right here," a third voice spoke. This made the girl jump. He was completely invisible, standing against the shadowed wall. Sasuke contained his short shock a lot easier. After listening to the sounds of the city traffic for a moment, the redhead spoke again. "So you made it."

The Uchiha nodded. "Tell me. I need to know everything. Anything."

The other male nodded, then closed his eyes. "My man went in, bringing the information of Uchiha Fugaku's death to another. They spoke for awhile, then parted their separate ways. I was hoping for something more, but the unknown seemed to like keeping things short and to the point."

"Do you have any idea of what this guy looked like?" Sakura piped up. "I'm pretty good with faces. Maybe he's someone I've seen in a database before."

"As he was walking away, he went right past me," explained the redhead. Then he opened his eyes. "I was surprised. He looked much like him."

The pink haired girl turned to Sasuke, who let his impassive façade drop and turn into one of great surprise. "Like Sasuke?" asked Sakura, making sure she heard correctly. "But, how is that possible? Unless it was like the doppelganger theory. Or…"

"You're…sure about that assumption?" the raven haired teen asked. He received a nod. After another long pause, his face went back to its normal expression. "Sakura. We're leaving. Now."

"Wha—" she started but then was forcefully dragged by the hand by her partner. "Thank you again, Gaara. I'll be in touch with you and the others later," she called back. Before she knew it, she was forced into the familiar taxi with the broken headlight. (She wondered how many locations they had a taxi with a broken right headlight, considering that the car didn't move around with them.) "Sasuke…by any chance, do you have a sibling?"

Instead of answering the question, he took out his cell phone and put it on speaker. Then he dialed the reception. It rang a couple of times before someone answered. "Yes, Sir? How can I help you?" a feminine voice spoke.

"Think hard. Has anyone entered the building?" Sasuke asked in a very business-like manner.

"No, Sir. No one has entered or left since your departure."

"Good. Now listen. Lock all the exits to the building. No one is to enter. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir. Beginning to lock all exits," the woman replied, but then made a kind of surprised noise. "Sir… there's someone outside. I've never seen him before…"

The two partners in the car looked at each other. "Don't let the person in," he commanded.

"That's fine, Sir, but he has a card. I'll inform him he has to leave," she said. "Excuse me, you there. We're in the process of a lockdown. I'm afraid you'll have to—"

The end of the sentence was never heard. A gunshot took over. The sudden noise made everyone in the car (including the driver) jump. "Hey!" the Uchiha called out, but got no response. "Hey!" After minutes of no reply, he cut the connection.

"Sasuke…" the girl started slowly, "what…just happened?"

"Something that shouldn't have," he said, "But I refuse to believe it's him. The bastard!" Before his partner could ask about what he was raving about, he was already back on the phone.

This time, it was Naruto who picked it up. "Hello, Sasuke. Fancy you calling me. Have you finally realized that you're no match for my greatness and cannot face me in person so you've decided to call instead?"

"Naruto!" Sakura called, since they were still on speakerphone, "Now really isn't the time for that."

"Listen, this is an important task," the raven haired teen said, "I want you to go down to the main lobby and tell me what you see."

"What? How is that of any importance whatsoever?" grumbled the blond on the other end of the line.

"Just stop stalling and go!"

"Right, right, I'm on my way down the elevator right now. So while I'm waiting, I have to ask: Sakura, how did your dance thing go? Oh, I really wanted to come but before I could ask, your partner was already gone." He didn't stop his chattering to let her talk, though. "I wonder if there's a video that I can look around for, because honestly, someone said that…" They could hear the elevator doors open. This was when he trailed off. "What the hell happened here?"

"Naruto? Hey. What do you see?" the girl asked.

"Hey! Hey! Are you…oh my God. Guys. She's dead. Looks like…a gunshot wound to the chest. Ah… the stench of blood is everywhere! How'd you know what happened?"

Silently, Sakura was cursing Naruto for giving her such a vivid picture of the crime scene. "That's not important," Sasuke said, continuing in his authoritative voice, "Put everyone on alert. The whole company. Do a lockdown. No one enters and no one leaves. Get people monitoring every single security camera we have. Also, someone get in touch with Mom. I want two people guarding her floor."

"Got it. How long until you get back?" the blond asked, as he resumed the job that the now dead receptionist didn't fulfill. "Lockdown completed. To override it, the code is 3295."

"Can't say. Luckily this station is a lot closer then the usual one. Probably about half an hour. That gives you plenty of time to work. But it also gives him time to move, wherever he may wish to. Find him."

"Gotcha!" the other said. "But…by the way, who are we looking for exactly?"

At this, the Uchiha was silent again. Sakura watched his knuckles turn white, since he was tightening them into fists so hard. "Just…someone who's walking around that shouldn't be." With that, he cut the connection.

The two practically jumped out of the car (while it was partially still moving) when it reached the train station about thirty seconds later. They managed to go relatively unnoticed by the mass of people coming home from the workday. The service elevator was easy enough to find.

The train ride itself was the most nerve-racking. Both sat on opposite sides of the car. The girl was feeling panicky, mainly because her partner wasn't calm and collected as usual. Though, she didn't blame him for being on edge. He'd just lost his father a few days prior.

She felt quite useless at the moment. There was no possible way for her to help. She didn't even know what Sasuke was thinking. So to pass the slow-moving time, she pondered upon his lack of response when she asked her previous question. At the moment, it seemed quite possible that he had a sibling. The possibilities were endless on why family would be behind the scheme, but with everything she'd seen over the months, nothing really surprised her anymore.

---0--0---

"What do you mean you can't find him? There isn't a single room that isn't under surveillance," Naruto informed those who sat in the common room of the ninth floor. Actually, that was only Hianta, Kiba, Shino, and himself.

"Well, technically the dorm rooms have no cameras. So if he isn't on any one of these screens, then he's hiding somewhere in a room," Kiba said, not bothering to take his eyes off the many small screens he was monitoring. "And besides, who made you the leader?"

"No one, really. But someone has to step up and take initiative!"

"Well then," the brunet continued, "how about taking the initiative to pay more attention to your security cameras."

"Why you…"

While the two bickered on, Hinata caught something strange. She began typing away at her keyboard and opened a security log. "W-what's this?" she asked more to herself, but everyone turned to her. Upon noticing the three pairs of eyes on her, she turned a light shade of pink, but spoke again. "There should only be four computers accessing the security cameras, but now there are five." While the two loudmouths leaned over the only female, Shino looked back to his screen.

"It disappeared," he said monotone. Now they all walked over to his computer. "One of the monitors vanished."

Kiba turned to his just in time to see one of his monitor's switch off as well. "What the…mine too!" Half a minute later, a similar thing happened to Hinata. She went back to furiously typing away, in hopes of recovering the lost signal. "What the hell is going on here?" he continued to ask, with no reply, as another screen turned itself off.

The girl managed to get her lost monitor back up, but at the same moment, another disappeared. There was no doubt in her mind now, that whoever had infiltrated the building was quite skilled. He (or she) must have really planned things out. Hide in a room where there was no surveillance, get rid of all the other monitors, and proceed with phase two. Was it really all one person? She was an expert with computers, that was for sure. But even he was shutting down the monitors faster then she could get them back online.

"Hey, more then half of mine are gone now. I can't get them back that fast…" Naruto complained, looking up when he saw the elevator doors open.

It was Sasuke and Sakura. "I'll get them," the pink haired girl was saying, and the other tossed her a set of keys. She ran down the hall towards her room.

"Naruto, what's the status?" the Uchiha heir asked his friend.

"Right," the blond started while still trying to recover the lost monitors. "The whole building has been put under alert, so the superiors are in charge. Neji, Lee and Tenten are all over on the factory side doing patrol duty with many others. And before you ask, there are four people guarding Mom's floor. But you might want to take a look at this." The raven haired teen came over and got a look at one of the cameras shutting itself off. He frowned. "There's no guarantee how long it'll take to get these back up."

"Sasuke!" his partner called, tossing him his weapon. "Let's go."

He nodded. "Call if something comes up. He's got to be moving now, so we don't have time to waste." The pair bolted to the stairs. It would be faster than the elevator at this point. "So…what do we do when we get to where your mother is?" the girl asked as they reached the first floor.

"Don't worry about that," he replied, as they got to the main lobby once again, "Focus on getting there first." There were many people gathered around the reception desk. Of course, the body was long gone, but there was still lots to be done. But they didn't have time to stop and look. There was someone quite dangerous walking around.

And anyhow, the more Sasuke thought about it, the more his worst theory became more likely. **He** was here.

Somehow, Sakura was having a flashback of a few days ago. They were running up these same flights of stairs in a race against time. Only this time, she hoped that it would turn out better then the previous time. 'Why does it turn out like this?' she thought frantically, 'We all worked so hard on the missions to prevent this. So why? I just don't seem to understand this world.' She drew her gun.

Just before reaching the fourth floor, they heard a single shot. But unlike last time, they didn't stop out of fear. They didn't have that time to waste. The Uchiha was a few steps ahead, so he was the one that threw open the door. And it was then when he yelled out the name that he'd wish he'd never heard. "**Itachi**!"

Two more shots were heard, as they ran down the marble floor. There was one employee unconscious right near the elevator. Two more were also out cold near the door, and the other lay motionless in a pool of his own blood. The pink haired girl pulled out her cell and phoned for a medic.

Fearing the worst, the duo pushed open the already slightly ajar door. Looking around, there was no sign of the man at all. "God damn him to hell!" he said furiously. But something made him throw aside all that.

"Sa…suke…my son…" a weak voice called out.

Both teens looked to the floor and found a heavily bleeding Uchiha Mikoto. She'd taken one shot to the shoulder, and another to her left side of her body. "Oh God…" Sasuke's face went pale. "Sakura, don't just stand there!"

The sight of all the blood made her queasy. But a life was at stake here. So she swallowed her fear and bent down beside the fallen woman. She ripped the sleeve of Lady Uchiha's shirt and used that to try and stop the bleeding on her shoulder, much like the other was doing on her side.

"Sasuke…it was…your brother…" his mother spoke softly, then coughed once.

"I know, I know," he replied, "Don't talk now. Save your strength. The medical team will be up here very soon."

She shook her head slightly. Her dark eyes closed, then reopened very slowly. "I can feel it. My soul is gone already. My time here is up. But…before it's time…" with her good hand, she shakily reached inside her shirt and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "This…is for you, my son. It's…from your father and myself. Please take care of it." Sasuke whisked the slip from her hand, and helped place her hand back at her side. Then the raven haired woman turned to the younger girl. "Sakura…I wish I'd gotten to know you better. You really…are something special. Please take…the ring off my finger."

Sakura looked down at the older woman's hand. On the ring finger was a black stone, surrounded by small rubies. "This one?" she asked, slipping it off her finger.

"Yes…" When the pink haired girl tried to return it, the other shook her head once again. "This is my…gift to you."

"What? But I can't take this! This is too grand for me. Me, someone who you hardly know."

"But…my son knows you. And…he believes in you. That's all that…matters right? So please…as my dying wish…take it." When she put it like that, Sakura couldn't say no. She looked down at the cloth that was covering the wound. It was almost completely soaked through. She put the ring on her right hand. "Sasuke…you asked before why…I took all those kids in."

"Shh. It's fine," he said, trying to get her to save her remaining strength. "I don't need to know. Just lie quietly and wait for the team to treat you."

But, of course, like all Uchihas, Mikoto was a stubborn one. "When I went into…town that rainy day…was when I first caught a glimpse of…Naruto. He bumped into me…and he didn't say any words of…apology. He just glared…but then his face turned…sad and lonely. And…it hurt me inside. Because…I'd seen that look…on you before. So…I brought him…back. Look how much…happier he is. And the others as…well. They were all…so lonely, in so much…pain. I had to bring them…back." She paused and tried to laugh, but it ended up making her cough. "You could…say I was making up for all the…times you were neglected. I guess that…it didn't work, huh? I was a horrible…mother."

"Don't you ever say that!" her son said forcefully. "Don't say it. Even though you weren't always there… you were the one that noticed me. You wouldn't have brought back everyone if you weren't a good mother!"

Lady Uchiha tried to smile. "You are such a nice person…Sasuke. I know you'll…grow into a person who will do…wonderful things in your lifetime. I'm content that I can go to the other side with a clean conscience."

Sakura took her free hand and placed it under the woman's carotid artery. The pulse was very weak. She knew what was coming. "Don't say such things! You aren't going to die yet!" the male Uchiha said, trying to get her to keep fighting.

"It's fine…I'm ready. And I can see him again. He's…waiting for me."

"You can't leave! Not…yet…" his voice was getting weaker and faltering now. "Don't…"

The female Uchiha closed her eyes and smiled. "We didn't really leave you. The blood of your father and myself flows in your veins. Remember that. So we'll always have a bond."

Sakura let a lone tear slide down her cheek. She never thought of parents passing on their blood as a type of unbreakable bond. "Mom…" she spoke in a barely audible whisper.

After a moment of silence, the two knew that time was up. Lady Uchiha, the president of Sharingan was dead. The girl let go of the bloodstained cloth. Her hands weren't touching anything, but the air smelt like bloody death. This was enough to make her turn around and throw up.

Sasuke, on the other hand, clenched his fists so tightly that they shook. On his face was a look of pure rage. "Damn! Damn it all!" It was all his fault. His! He should have been there. He should have protected her. But it was more that son of a bitch's fault. Itachi! The bastard! He killed his own flesh and blood.

It was Sasuke's turn to let out a loud cry of frustration.

---0--0---

**AN: **Guys, forgive the weird line break thing. Apparently the tool isn't working... Well, it was quite a chapter. 14 pages. Not bad. My pathetic attempts at slight humor, and a death scene. And people wonder why I don't write angst. It's cuz I don't like making people die. It was very hard to kill off both parents (because now Sasuke turns into the must-kill-Itachi revenge machine like in the show). But we'll see about that. And in any case, what's done is done.

Yes, for all those of you who were expecting Itachi, he made his appearance at long last. But really, I wasn't sure if I wanted to make him evil in this fic. I find it amusing when he's one of those older brothers who comment on Sasuke's unemotionalism (and no, that is not a real word but it sounds cool). In my next fic… I shall make him un-evil. Yes…

Kay, so I don't know when the next update shall be. When I have free time, I guess. And when I think of something else to fill in at least 9 pages. Haha. I'm kidding. I have a plot outline already. Next time: So now that Itachi has shown his face, it's time for his plot to unfold. What could he have possibly wanted in exchange for the lives of his parents? Certainly only the company wasn't at stake… or perhaps there's something else everyone's overlooking.


	12. The Uchiha Fortune

**Starting AN: **(Updating on Monday cuz it's Canadian Thanksgiving!) When I started this fic, I vowed there'd be no language over the T rating. So much for that. Please excuse Sasuke-kun's vulgarity at the beginning of this chapter. He's a little distraught. Anyway. More of my pointless rambles after you finish this chapter.

**Chapter 12  
The Uchiha Fortune**

For the next little while, as the medical team checked his partner and him for any injuries, Sasuke continued to fume. Sakura had never seen him as he was now. Certainly he had every right to be angry with himself (not to mention the murderer as well), but it very well looked like he'd tear a person limb from limb by simply speaking to him. Unfortunately, this task was given to a low employee.

"I don't give a damn if it's one o'clock in the fucking morning. That bastard is still somewhere scurrying around like a weasel, which he is. Why is it that it takes a company of two fucking hundred and one to find one man? It's been three hours. I don't care what it takes, just find him!" seethed the Uchiha. The other man sighed, but nodded his head in response before going back to his post as a monitor.

Sakura glanced around. Truthfully, she wanted to be anywhere else other then the current room. It still reeked of death. But if Sasuke was still around, she felt it her duty to stay right by his side. "Hey, um…" she placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.

The Uchiha turned around, almost yelling a furious: "What?"

She removed her hand and stepped back. It seemed that he wasn't going to stop glaring for anyone. "Never mind. Sorry I bothered you." She turned away and heard him let out a long sigh. She listened to the sound of his footsteps as they walked away.

It was her turn to let out a sigh. Her eyes wandered to the large wooden desk that still lay in the office. It was the only piece of furniture left in the room, actually. On it sat a folded slip of paper. It was the one that Mikoto had given her son shortly before passing. That was what she'd wanted to talk to her partner about, since he hadn't looked at it either.

She glanced back at where he stood. He was out in the hall, sort of pacing. Not seeing any harm with reading it, she quickly unfolded the paper. After hastily reading it, she glanced to a picture on the wall. Then back at her partner. She walked over to the small picture.

Sasuke checked his watch for the millionth time. It had only been fifteen seconds since he'd last checked it. Many things were running through his mind. None of it really made sense, since they were mostly unfinished thoughts and questions bumping into each other. He clicked his tongue angrily, then checked his watch again. Only ten seconds had gone by. This was ridiculous.

Briskly, he walked back into the office. His partner slipped something into her pocket. He didn't know what it was, nor did he care. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Sakura, we're going." He grabbed the paper from the desk top and stuffed it in his pocket.

"What? Oh, okay the—ow!" Before she knew it, he'd forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room (so forcefully, in fact, that she was surprised her shoulder didn't pop out of its socket). At first, she had to practically job to keep up with his pace. Eventually she managed to stand up straight. "Hey, hey, I can walk on my own, you know."

"Yeah…you told me once before. In those exact words, actually," he remarked, but freed her arm nonetheless. Sasuke remained a few steps ahead of his partner. Just before he reached for the door of the stairs, it opened for him. Whatever color he had left on his face had now disappeared.

On the stairwell side of the door, stood a man, just a hair taller then Sasuke. They had similar hair color, though, this man's hair was tied back with a hair tie. He wore a long, collared black and red jacket. Sakura couldn't help but notice the similarities he had to someone she knew very well. She also wondered if the two lines under his cheekbones were scars, or just age lines.

There was silence for a moment, though, it felt like ages. Sasuke's hand was still extended slightly. Though, he then closed his fist and pulled out his gun from its holster. He'd put on his deadliest glare. Actually, glare was more of an understatement. If looks could kill, everyone within a twenty-mile radius would have dropped dead. In fact, he was so infuriated, that all the words that wanted to spill out of his mouth got all jumbled up. All he managed was one simple word. "**You!**" he pointed his gun at the man.

The other seemed unfazed at his actions. Instead, he unbuttoned his long coat, as if there wasn't a gun pointed directly at his head. Then, he gazed from side to side, as if inspecting the floor.

"You'd better be prepared to die, Itachi, because you have about three seconds before I pull the trigger," Sasuke said venomously.

The other just sighed. "Rash as always, foolish little brother. It's a wonder you're still alive, though, I've heard you've been rather close to experiencing death a couple times." More silence filled the late night air. Sakura stood much like a human statue, only her eyes darting back and forth between the brothers. Something about the elder's calm demeanor made her quite suspicious, though.

"How…how could you kill Mom and Dad, your own flesh and blood?" The hand that held the gun was shaking. The girl assumed it was still from the rage. But considering that the color hadn't come back to his face yet… she wasn't quite sure if she could eliminate the sense of fear.

"How…he asks," Itachi said, brushing some stray hairs back from his face. After a moment, he looked slightly annoyed at his brother. "Well, for one, you have no idea that the death of dear Mother and Father was tied to me in any way."

"Don't screw with me!" interrupted the younger sibling, "You may have a comrade that murdered Dad, but you killed your own mother with your gun."

"Ah. Do you think so? How do you know that it was I that killed Mother? Were you there to witness it?" he asked smartly. This made Sasuke rethink his next comment. Sakura, who had still not made so much of a peep, was beginning to worry for her partner. He was under a lot of emotional and physical stress at the moment, and his brother's mind games weren't helping. "You have the word of a dead woman. That's not going to do you much good."

"Shut up! I heard her myself. You're the bastard that murdered her! You made her suffer! I won't allow you to get away with that!"

Just before he could pull the trigger, he caught the sound of other footsteps on the stairs. It sounded like more than one person. Before the two partners knew it, standing behind Itachi was the vice-president, Tsunade, and many supervisors, including Kakashi. "W-what is this?" the younger of the brothers asked, though it was more to himself.

Their silver haired supervisor walked in front of the elder Uchiha, and stood to talk to the duo. "Sasuke, put your weapon away," he said calmly, looking downcast.

"What? What kind of sick joke is this, Kakashi? The President has just been murdered by **that** man you're standing in front of. And you're telling me to let him walk free?"

"Listen, Sasuke," he said, lowering his voice, "I don't like it any more than you do. But he's right. Without any proof, we can't exactly hang him. And since your parents didn't leave any sort of will…the company rightfully goes to the next heir, which, now, is your brother. Uchiha Itachi is now the President of Sharingan. So you'd best put your gun away. Or I'll be forced to remove it for you."

Wide-eyed, Sasuke looked from Kakashi, to the vice-president and all the supervisors. None of them seemed too happy, but they weren't doing anything either. He took a step back, but put his weapon back in its holster. "T-this is all ridiculous. All of it," he said quietly, then turned on his heel and walked towards the elevator.

Sakura looked at everyone as well. Especially Itachi. His eyes were closed and his unreadable expression Though, she could swear an almost invisible smirk was present on his face. Getting slightly scared at this fact, she in turn ran towards the elevator.

* * *

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto greeted when the elevator doors opened, "Listen, I heard what happened and I just want to say that…" Though, it was almost as if the Uchiha hadn't heard a thing. He stormed right past his friend to hie quarters. Sakura was following slowly. "I understand he's upset, but that's no reason to act **that** coldly." 

The pink haired teen stopped. "That's not it, Naruto. He's so upset because it was his older brother, Uchiha Itachi that killed Mom. And how he's the new heir of the company."

A puzzled look crossed his face. "Uchiha Itachi? Sasuke had a brother?"

"Eh?" it was her turn to be confused, "You didn't know? I thought for sure you'd know who he was. He never…mentioned anything to you?"

"No…I always thought he was an only child. Hmm. A brother. Imagine that… Sakura? Where're you going?"

She gave the other a smile. "I'm going to do some digging. See you. Oh, you should get some sleep. I have a feeling that things aren't going to be as they were when you wake up." She walked towards her bedroom. She decided against checking up on her partner, not risking getting strangled, or something.

She unlocked her room and glanced at its emptiness. This place held so many memories—both good and bad. She didn't really want things to change. There were so many questions that had recently surfaced. The main one being why hadn't Sasuke mentioned anything about Uchiha Itachi? That, she was determined to find out. But glancing at the clock, (it was almost 2 AM) she decided that could wait until morning.

* * *

When she woke up in the morning, things didn't seem too different. The sun still shone through the white curtains, her alarm still went off at nine, and everything was still in its proper place. But the air felt different. Almost suffocating. It made her want to just sleep off the rest of the day. 

But then she remembered that she had a mission. With a sigh, Sakura crawled out of bed and into the bathroom for a quick shower.

As she let the hot water cleanse her body, she let her thoughts wander. 'I wonder what we'll do from now on. Kakashi is still our supervisor, but our jobs are pretty much useless now. Mom and Uchiha Fugaku are gone, so there's no point. Unless Information uses us for something else. Maybe the Akatsuki. No. I can't think like such a pessimist. There's got to be something else. First, why would someone want to kill their own flesh and blood? Well, there's always the greed and money factor. I'm guessing that's the most likely one out of everything. But then there's always revenge, in which case only Sasuke may have an idea about that.'

But it wasn't like she was about to go waltzing into her partner's room and strike up a pleasant conversation about his murdering brother. Sasuke was a last resort. She still had _that thing_ that she'd picked up earlier. This would be her first lead, she decided. However, she was going to need a little help. And she knew exactly who to call.

A good fifteen minutes later, she stood outside room 934. She'd never been to the rooms on the opposite hall before, but now seemed like a great time to start. She knocked lightly on the wooden door. After awhile of no response, she tried again. This time, she heard a faint: "One moment." Good. Well, at least she wasn't doing anything.

After another minute, the door opened slightly. "Morning, Hinata," the pink haired girl greeted.

"Oh, Sakura…" the quiet female replied wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her long white shirt. "Come… um, come in. Please." She made way for the other female.

Sakura got a good look at the other's room. It resembled hers. There wasn't much in it, but she knew that there wasn't really time to give any homey touches to a place where you spent all of a maximum seven hours a day. And that was sleep. A sniffling drew her thoughts away. The silent Hyuuga wiped her eyes again. "Oh…Hinata…" the green eyed girl said, completely understanding. She pulled the slightly shorter girl into a hug. "There, there. Be strong, girl. We have to keep it together."

The other nodded. "Y-yes…thank you." Breaking off the embrace, she removed the last of the stains on her cheeks. "So w-what is it that you needed, Sakura? Y-you've never come over before."

"Oh, right. Almost forgot about that. I need your help with something. There's something that these Uchihas know that we don't. If I can figure out what it is, it'll help determine why Mom and Mr. Uchiha were murdered."

Hinata nodded once again. "Anything to help. Just tell me what to do."

The pink haired girl smiled. "I like that spirit. Let's get to an early morning unassigned special mission, then. Just the two of us." Out of one of the many pockets in her cargo pants, she pulled out a necklace and an earpiece. "This is how we're going to stay in contact. The pendant acts as a microphone and the other is to hear, obviously enough."

"Amazing, Sakura," the other commented, observing the necklace with great interest. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh. That one you have there is Sasuke's. We used it on a couple missions, but not recently. I thought it'd be useful." She took her necklace and attached it around her neck. Then she took out another earpiece and placed it in her ear.

"T-this is his? How'd you get it then?"

Sakura froze momentarily. Then she laughed nervously. "That's not the point. Just put it on." The Hyuuga didn't press the subject and simply obeyed to the order. "Okay, listen carefully. I need you to be my lookout. Pull up all cameras around the President's office, plus the lobby and anywhere else you can think of that might be useful."

"Sure. Just, one thing, Sakura," Hinata began, though she started to pull up the security camera footage as she spoke. "That man is very skilled at computers, or he has others working for him, which is possible. When we were monitoring yesterday, someone planted a virus on the security camera tapes to make them shut down. We countered it after awhile but the point is to be careful. No telling what can happen. So take the stairs."

"Thanks a lot, Hinata. You're me eyes, so I'm counting on you." With that, she exited her friend's room. It was then she spotted Naruto. Perfect. "Hey, Naruto!" she greeted.

"Good morning, Sakura. Where are you off to so early in the morning?" the blond asked.

"Oh, nowhere special. But listen, if Sasuke comes looking for me, which is highly unlikely but just in case, tell him that I'm around and not to worry. Make up something. I know you can handle that!" she waved and then headed down the stairs.

"Um…okay?" he replied to the closing door.

"Hinata? Did you catch all of that?" the pink haired girl asked on her long stair decent.

"Yes," she heard into her ear. "E-everything is perfectly clear. And so far, there's no one on the President's floor. So you're fine."

"Great. If something changes let me know. Or if you spot Uchiha Itachi anywhere, tell me. It's really quite important. I think I only have a limited time frame here before the Uchiha brothers suspect something's up."

"Okay," the other replied. She hadn't asked about Sakura's so-called secret mission. However, it seemed important to her. And she was willing to help. For the sake of Sharingan. "By the way, what does Itachi look like?" she asked, remembering she'd just heard his name, but never had a picture to go with it.

"They updated the employee database already. You should be able to find it there."

There wasn't a reply in return, so Sakura assumed her partner was looking through the database. In the meantime, she reached the bottom floor. She walked across the foyer, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. There wasn't really anyone present, which made things easier. A new receptionist was already sitting at the desk. The pink haired teen didn't quite see how she could sit at the bloodstained desk (yes, the stains were still there) and act like nothing was wrong. Then a few employees rushed about, keeping their heads low.

It sure had a different atmosphere, this place. Just as she'd predicted. Glancing from side to side, she opened the door to the stairwell. Before climbing up, she listened for any noises. She knew for a fact that there weren't any surveillance cameras along the stairs, so it would be nice to know that some evil Akatsuki follower wasn't lurking in the shadows. Or even worse, any of the Uchiha brothers.

Her footsteps echoed on the metal steps. She was a lot more careful on these stairs, since she knew she didn't really have a legitimate reason for being at that part of the building. "Any sign of the brothers, Hinata?"

"No, not yet. I can look for them if you want to."

"Yes, thanks. That'd be great."

It actually didn't take as long as she'd originally thought to reach the President's floor. Her Hyuuga partner had assured her no one was up there, so she went in without another thought. Sure enough, there wasn't a person in sight. So part A of her plan was accomplished.

But now she had to act fast. Out of her cargo pants, she pulled out a long key-like object. This was the object she'd taken from the safe in the President's office. She was sure Sasuke hadn't read the note his mother had left him yet. It was probably a good thing that she had, or else Itachi could have gotten his hands on it. Some of Uchiha Mikoto's note hadn't made sense to her, but the part about the safe had.

She observed the key in her hand. It was about three inches in length, and most of it was a long octagonal cylinder. Of course, there was a thin flat part at the end that was used to unlock something, and a handle at the end.

"And may the lion bow for you," Sakura said, still looking at the key.

"What?" Hinata responded, not quite sure of where that comment had come from. It was awfully random.

The other sighed. "It was in the note Mom left to Sasuke. It has something to do with this, but I don't know what it means."

"Hmm." The Hyuuga tried to think of something, while still doing her job of monitoring the security camera footage. Then something caught her eye. "A lion? Could she be talking about those statues near the elevator?"

Sakura looked over. She'd forgotten about those statues. "Maybe…" she replied, walking over to investigate. First, she tried to notice the differences (if any) in between the two lions. Well, one had a crack down the middle of its head, but that hadn't been there originally. Other then that, she couldn't see any difference.

She decided to take a closer look. First, she inspected the cracked one. From the head to the paws, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then came the second one. She ran her fingers lightly across the bronze carving. A very slight gap caught her attention. It ran along the outside of the left paw. "Hmm…" She moved up to inspect the face. It looked just like the other one. But her keen eye noticed a mark on one of the eyes. It was the shape of an octagon. "Now that can't be a coincidence…"

Taking the long key, she placed it up at the eye. It slid in without a hitch. She turned it only slightly clockwise, and then felt it click. She removed the key and stepped back. A moment later, the left paw of the lion rose, leaving a small opening, just big enough for a person to go through. "Well I'll be damned," the pink haired girl breathed. And of course, being the person who she was, she stepped inside.

It was dark, but the open paw shed some light. It was enough for her to notice a little light switch on the wall. Of course, she turned it on. But as soon as she did so, the entranceway closed. But at least the lights came on.

Sakura found herself staring down a long, empty hallway. This was certainly a turn in events. She'd always heard of buildings having secret passages, but those were always on television. Well, truthfully, everything that had happened to her so far since she'd left her high school seemed like a television show.

"Sakura? I lost you on the monitor," Hinata commented.

"You aren't going to believe this. It's some sort of hidden passage behind that lion statue. I'm going to check it out," the pink haired teen replied with a smile. Finally, something interesting.

"A-are you sure? I mean…a secret passage? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Hmm. Doubt it. The floors are the same as out there and there are lights all along the hall. And I'm pretty sure I'm alone here. I'll be fine. Just keep alert." Sakura's heart began to pump fast in anticipation. She could see the end of the corridor just a little further.

Upon reaching the end, she could see that it was simply another door. This one looked like a sliding door. There was no keypad anywhere to be found. She wondered how this one would open.

A groove on the wall caught her eye. It seemed rather out of place, considering the walls were perfectly smooth all along the hall. Perhaps this was the keyhole. She pulled out the octagonal key and placed it next to the hole. That wouldn't work. The key was long and thin. The hole was wider and not so deep. And the shape was almost circular.

Sakura ran her finger across it. She paused, noticing her finger, or more specifically, the ring on her finger. Now that she looked carefully, Mikoto's ring looked like it could fit in that little space.

Before doing so, however, she thought about it all. Lady Uchiha had given her the ring and given Sasuke the paper with the code for the safe. This meant that it was supposed to be Sasuke who received the key, not her. However, if Sasuke were to have discovered (or already knew) the secret of the lion statue, he'd get to this door as well. There was no way he'd be able to open the second door, seeing that he had no ring. After considering all this, it was clear. Lady Uchiha had meant for the two of them to come to this place together.

A little late for that now, though. "Well, Hinata. Here goes nothing." She pressed her ring into the groove. Sure enough, the sliding door opened. She stepped inside the room and let out a gasp.

The Hyuuga noticed this, of course. "Sakura? What is it?"

There was a moment of no reply. The quiet girl could only assume her friend was in shock. "It's… amazing."

"What?"

Sakura's green eyes darted from one thing to the next. The floor was no longer marble like the previous hall. It was black, with tiny crystals embedded in it, that reflected the light. Speaking of the lighting, it was a series of lights, shaped in the form of an uchiwa fan. She found that an interesting idea.

But that wasn't the thing that captured her attention. The room wasn't that big, and it sure was stuffy. She assumed no one visited it much. But there were many shelves. And on many shelves came many items. It didn't really have a theme. There were things made from gold, silver and bronze. There were books that looked at least a hundred years old. There were antiques and little odds and ends lying about in their respective places. There were also many boxes.

Curiosity getting the better of her yet again, she walked over to the shelf of boxes. Opening up one, she found it full of bright blue stones: sapphire. Then opening another, it was full of green stones, both cut and uncut: emerald. There were gemstones of every kind in different boxes. It was like stepping into a safety deposit box at the bank. Except a really big one. And one that was worth…oh… she guessed it was a number she couldn't count to.

"The Uchiha fortune. Wow. It takes my breath away," she commented, still looking at everything. Her hand bushed over a solid gold carving of Pegasus. There were many solid gold figurines and statues. One that caught her eye was a rather large one. A lion with gleaming red (they were ruby) eyes. But this one had its head down.

_And may the lion bow for you._

It was sitting on a silver box. She set the cat on the ground, being extra careful with it (it was also surprisingly heavy). She lifted the lid of the box. There were a few books, some papers, and a smaller container inside. She opened the small one and found a ring. It matched hers. Only amongst the rubies, there were three small black stones, positioned like corners of an equilateral triangle. This was Uchiha Fugaku's ring.

Upon putting the statue back in it's place (without the box of course, since she'd be taking that with her), Sakura decided that it was probably time to leave. However, there was something on the only shelf-free wall that she hadn't taken a notice to yet.

With the silver box tucked under her arm, she let her green eyes travel across the wall. This, by far, was the most extraordinary thing in the room. It was a large black surface, and was covered in gold plaques and lines. 'An Uchiha family tree. It's beautiful.'

There were quite a few generations and many branches up there. At about her hips was the height of Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku's names. Under the name was a birth date, and of course, a death date. "Oh, Hinata. You should really see this."

"What is it now?"

"The Uchiha family tree. There's so many of them. It's amazing how they were able to keep track of these family members for so long. And they branch off so many ways. Look. Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Madara… the list just goes on." She looked back down to the bottom, where she found both of the Uchiha brothers. Then just one level up from that, she noticed that there was a date of death for Uchiha Fugaku.

'Lady Uchiha must have put it there when she came to hide the box,' she thought sadly, noticing an open container of numbers and months. 'Mom deserves this too.' Fishing through the jumbles of plaques, she took out the right ones and put a paste (that was located next to container) on their backs. She placed them in the right spot.

Sadly, she looked at the plaque. Uchiha Mikoto: July 12, 1959 – August 06, 2006

"S-Sakura. I've got a location on President Uchiha. H-he's making his way up to his office now," Hinata said, her shaky voice returning.

"Great…" the other replied with a sigh. There went her escape plan. Though, she wondered if there was another way out. "If there's a secret passage, I'm sure there must be a secret escape too. I'm going to look around for one, since I'm not going to risk going back that way. I've had enough time here." On all fours, she crawled around on the floor, looking for some sort of trap door. Sure enough, there was another groove in the floor. This one looked like it fit the ring too.

She placed the ring lightly against it, and a square in the corner popped loose. "I really do love trapdoors," she said with a smile. She grabbed the silver box and stepped down onto the stairs. One problem with this part was there were no lights. And she decided not to leave the floorboard open. Luckily, though, there was a railing.

So she set off down a flight of stairs (of whose length was unknown) in the dark, a silver box in one hand, the rail in the other.

"Hinata. What time is it?"

"Almost twelve. Why?"

"Nothing. Just wondering. I spent a lot of time in that place. Sorry. You must have wanted to do other things." There was no light at all. It made Sakura a little nervous, so talking certainly helped.

"No, really. It's fine. No one else needs me now, so I don't mind."

"Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it."

It was then when she hit a landing. She let her hand on the railing go first, guiding her so she wouldn't trip. This must be how it felt to be blind. She certainly didn't want that to ever happen to her after experiencing this.

The railing ended a short while later. Feeling in front of her, she noted a wall, but a stepladder up. Setting the silver case down, she began to climb. It wasn't that long of a climb. She noticed when she hit her head on something. It felt like wood. "Ow."

"You alright?"

"Yup. Fine. Just…kinda stuck in a passage here. But I'll be fine." With one hand, she pushed on the board. It opened like a door. At first, she was blinded by the sunlight, but she soon got used to it. She stuck her head out and observed the scenery around her. It looked like she was outside the back of the building. She went back down, grabbed the box and climbed out of the passage. It seemed as if she'd come out of a potted plant, considering she saw soil and the plant over on the side she'd opened the plank of wood. Quickly, she replaced the plank, threw some soil in, and repotted the small shrub.

Now she wondered how she'd keep a low profile holding a sizable solid silver case with dirt on her hands, while walking into the front door. Well, she'd basically thought of the solution to that problem in a second: just don't come in through the front.

She walked over to the side of the building that was used as residence. Her first thought was: 'Why are there ladders everywhere?' (Not that she was complaining. It was convenient.) Sure enough, attached to the side of the building, there were hooks into the side of the building, that led all the way up to the roof. That was probably what it was for: the roof.

There weren't any windows on the side she was on. She'd have to settle for the air duct. She took in a deep breath, knowing that she would have to climb nine floors. "If I can jump off a bridge, I can do this."

"Do what?" Hinata's voice cut in.

"Oh, nothing. Scaling the walls of the building way up high. I'm just trying to find a way back inside."

"W-what? Scaling the wall?"

"Oh don't sound scared. But you'd best be quiet. I need to concentrate." With that, she placed the box once again under an arm, and began to climb upwards. It was at times like these where she vowed never to complain about stairs ever again.

After about five minutes of solid climbing, she reached the ninth floor. (She'd been counting the vents.) Of course, it was screwed in. However, ever since she'd gotten into the information business (even in high school) she carried around a screwdriver. It was a little bit of a habit with a touch of paranoia. However, at the moment, she was glad that old habits die hard.

'This is so dangerous,' she thought dryly, while unscrewing each corner. There was no way she was going to be able to screw them back in from the inside, so she let each metal screw fall the ground below. Finally, the whole screen came loose, and she dropped that down as well. Satisfied, she shoved the silver case in first, then wormed her way into the duct. It was a pretty tight fit.

The duct went straight for a few meters, but then began to branch off into many places. She'd have to try her luck in guessing a way out. She tried to mentally draw a map of the floor. She'd come in the back way, which meant that the first two rooms were Sasuke and hers.

Leaving the box where it was, she tried the passage on her left, which should have been her room. After turning the corner, she found the screen to her room. She tried to push it out, but it was screwed in. And there was no way that her hand could fit through the narrow openings. With a sigh, she crawled back to the box.

It was a strange system she had going. First, she'd push the box forward, then crawl silently after it. The duct was to small to really crawl through, so she had to worm her way on her front instead. Hopefully she wasn't making much noise; or else, things might turn problematic.

After a long struggle, she passed by the screen to the common room. It was hard to see through it, but she couldn't really hear anyone anyway. With a shrug, she continued on her journey.

On the opposite side of the common room, Sakura remembered Hinata's room as the third one on the right. So, keeping in a frustrated sigh, (because worming through air ducts was quite a workout) she followed her push box and crawl pattern.

A few minutes later, she lay behind the screen of her temporary partner's room. "Hinata? You still there?" she asked, taking out her earpiece.

"Yes, I am. Where are you?" the girl replied.

Sakura was delighted. So this was her room. "I'm here. In the air vent. Want to help me out of here?"

"The air vent?" the Hyuuga left her computer and walked up to the screen. She was too short to see anything at first, so she took a chair. When she saw two green eyes, she let out a tiny squeak. "Oh."

"Here…I have a screwdriver, if that works," the other said, pulling out her tiny tool. At least that she was able to drop through the spaces in the screen. Hinata quickly unscrewed it with ease. "Thanks a lot."

"Um…no problem, I guess."

The pink haired girl came down first, then reached back up for the box. "Oh darn. I just took a shower. Looks like I'm going to need one again," she said, putting on a bashful face.

"Yeah…" the other female agreed. She was eyed the silver case with great interest. But it probably was none of her business what was inside of it. "T-that's lovely," was all she said instead.

Sakura looked down at the box in her hands. "Yes, it really is. Oh you should have seen it all. It was gorgeous!" Then she covered her mouth. "Wait. We shouldn't speak of any of this. Not now anyway. Just pretend like nothing happened today, okay?"

"Right," Hinata agreed.

The other smiled. "What would I do without you? I really appreciate everything you've done for me. Even if we don't know each other that well."

The Hyuuga shook her head. "No. Think nothing of it. I-I'm glad I could be of some use…" She walked over to her laptop. "In case you're interested, Sasuke just left Kakashi's office."

The pink haired teen nodded, and left the room. She was rather thankful that no one was around. Where they were, she didn't know. But it didn't matter yet. But perhaps soon, it would. 'Sasuke, when you get back upstairs, you're going to explain to me why you kept your fortune a secret from me. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about it.'

* * *

**AN: **Well, I'm not going to say anything about this chapter, because it only reminds me of how horrible it was, and that's a sad thought. So instead I'll ramble about other things. You can totally skip this part, but yeah. 

Eww. This school year has so much more work compared to last year. It's killing my writing interests! I had practically no inspiration for this chapter, which is why it sucks. But I had no patience (or time for that matter) to really go over and rewrite it. Besides, I'm a little off the SasuSaku pairing now. I think it's because the fillers are killing me, and it's back to the normal crazy fighting/training in the manga. My Bleach obsession (but mainly an IchiRuki obsession) is slowly taking over Naruto… anyway… Yeah. So it wasn't that long of a ramble. But I thought I might as well say that.

Woo. 2 more chapters left! Finally it's coming to a close! I can't do long stories. I guess I'm rushing a bit, but better rushed than unfinished. Anyway. Next chapter: A little more of Sasuke's past is revealed. Plus, their determination! They'll take down Itachi for sure! However, someone's showed up to complicate things. Heavily.


	13. Under His Rule

**Starting AN: **Yay? Another hard chapter to write. The beginning was easy, so was the end (kinda?). The middle... eh, well, we'll just not talk about that. I pushed my schoolwork aside for this chapter, cuz I kind of just want to end this story. So yeah. If it's rushed, my usual apologies.

**Chapter 13  
Under His Rule  
**

_I'd preferred to keep the subject of Uchiha Itachi locked in that box in my mind for the rest of my life. But I guess that was a little too much to ask. That, or it was my young naïve self, thinking that he'd walked out of my life for good. That's probably the reason why he never came up in any conversations with the people I'd meet in the future._

_It's a tough thing for me to dwell on, even to this day. Especially to this day, actually. One day he'd suddenly gone, and now, he was suddenly back. I hated my brother. Funny how an opinion can change in a matter of seconds, yet the image takes years to build._

_Brother was always a part of my earlier childhood, from whatever childhood I had. But in a world of adults, corporate schemes and strict academic studies, he was always the one that kept me sane through the years. Not like he was my age or anything. Being eight years apart is a bigger rift than most people think._

_But nevertheless, he always managed to spend time with me. Despite Father's nagging, and his own duties waiting to be fulfilled. He was someone who I would always strive to become. Being the youngest is always like that. You're always compared to the older siblings. _

_So I guess you could say while I idolized him, I couldn't help but feel jealous at the same time. Why was he always being praised? Why did he understand and know so much more than I did? Why did Mom and Father love him so much more?_

_Actually I shouldn't say 'love'. I'm still not quite sure of its exact definition. Everyone has another interpretation of it. Brother said it was: "A bond between two people that can't be bought, sold, traded, forced, or severed." I guess for a seven year old that was kind of hard to understand. But somehow, I think I can start to see it now._

_I don't quite know how it happened one day. Maybe it wasn't even a day. Perhaps it'd been going on for awhile. I don't know. I always pride myself in being the observant one, but it was probably more of naivete than observance. _

_A few of the company employees had come out to speak with Brother personally that day. He'd been teaching me how to aim and fire the newest model Sharingan had designed. His face had its usual vacant stare (I guess it runs in the family). With a tiny flick to my forehead—something I really didn't appreciate but it was something he did on a regular basis—he excused himself, saying that he'd teach me tomorrow._

_Wouldn't you know that tomorrow never came?_

_They must have been talking about money. I couldn't help but eavesdrop a bit. But I'm pretty sure Brother knew I was there, because he kept saying that this wasn't the time nor place to talk about such matters._

_Now that I look back at it, Father had seemed rather cold, or colder than usual, the past few weeks leading up to it. I was never that close with my father. Being the President, most of his time was taken up by work. Not like I never wanted to spend time with him, but Mom said to leave him be._

_"Both of us love you very much. He might focus his attention on Itachi all the time, but when he's with me, he can't shut up about you. How you've grown, how your grades are doing."_

_Yeah. Mom was always saying that. Even up until that day. Come to think of it, after that day, she hadn't said those same lines. She never said he was proud. Only she was. I just learned to deal with it._

_Anyway, the next day, Brother was gone. Without a word. Without a goodbye. Father was extremely irritable about it. Saying things like: I always knew he was good for nothing. Or things like: Don't worry about him. He's a grown teen that can stand up for himself in the world. Now get back to work._

_For the next month, I still remained in the shadows about what happened. All I knew was that Brother was gone, Father was angrier than usual, and Mom never looked as cheerful. But she tried, for my sake I think. But I assume she missed him. He was her son, after all. _

_So looking back on it now, I guess it's not too clear on why I hate him so much. Perhaps it was the fact he left me—a child who needed to still cling to his older brother—alone in a world of adults, corporate schemes, and strict academic studies. Or perhaps it was for making the rest of my family miserable. Maybe it was all of the above._

_Because Sasuke would never measure up to a genius like Itachi. No matter how hard he tried. People like him came once in a century. No one would ever replace him._

_That's what I believed._

* * *

Sakura's first stop wasn't to visit Sasuke, however. Instead, she went over to her room. For security measures, she unscrewed her vent, and placed the box right inside. Call it paranoia, but she could swear that there was a change in the atmosphere. It gave her a new kind of feeling. 

Something big was going to happen.

Now, whether this was a good or bad thing, she didn't know. But it was probably best to play it safe. So, she placed the vent screen back where it was, screws and all, like no one had ever touched it.

Satisfied with her work, she chose now as a good time to get some answers. Walking across the hall, she knocked on her partner's door. There was no answer. She tried a few more times after that, and again there was no response. "Are you ignoring me, Uchiha Sasuke?" she asked the closed door.

With a frown, Sakura fished out her keys. She unlocked the door with an, "I'm coming in." Much to her surprise, she found the room empty. That was odd. Considering that Hinata had told her that the younger Uchiha had left his superior's office already. The only place she'd think of that he'd go next was his room. Sasuke was always very quick-to-business, after all.

But she didn't exactly see his rush in doing much today. He'd been up until at least two in the morning, but who knew if he'd gotten any sleep whatsoever. It'd been a long twenty four hours, that's for sure. Actually, it'd just been a long week in general. He'd lost both his parents, and was robbed of his inheritance by the magical appearance of his older brother. Who no one had even known about until last night.

It was all happening very fast. Well, everything seemed to have moved fast since she'd come to Sharingan.

Not having a better lead, she decided it was time to give Kakashi a visit.

"Sasuke?" he'd questioned her question, as he looked up from a file full of papers. She nodded. "Yes, he was here a little while ago. You just missed him."

"So I can tell, as he's not here," the pink haired teen commented dryly. "So any idea as of where he might be now? I have…something I need to take up with him. And since he's up and about, I don't see the harm in waiting."

"Hmm. I wonder where he went. You could always try the President's office. If he's somewhere, it's there. What he's doing, I can't say for sure. He seemed in his own world when he came down here. I don't think a word I said got through to him. Good luck in trying, though."

"Yes, thanks," she said, giving her superior a little bow. She wanted to talk with him more over the previous night's events, but he seemed busy. Which almost never happened. He also seemed none too happy, which was the second half of why she didn't want to stick around for too long either.

Though, she wondered what he was doing up visiting his brother. She assumed it was hardly for just the friendly conversation. She could only hope her partner's good judgement. Wait… As of lately the younger Uchiha seemed to have been lacking in that area. She simply sighed. Hopefully he wouldn't do anything stupid until she got there.

* * *

It was strangely eerie walking down the company halls. He'd walked them so many times before, he didn't have to think about where he was going. Perhaps that was why he felt much like someone sitting in a movie theater, watching through the character's eyes. His subconscious drove his actions. But the real Uchiha Sasuke was just sitting immobile on the inside. 

He vaguely remembered walking into Kakashi's office. He didn't quite know the reason he was there. It was all quite hazy. And then before he knew what he was doing, whoever was maneuvering his body had gone back to the elevator and pressed the fifth floor button.

Though, somehow when the doors opened to that ever so familiar landing, his trance was momentarily broken. He didn't know why he was standing there, point being. But at the moment that didn't matter. He placed his hand on his gun holster. Just for safety.

The lone office's door was slightly ajar, therefore, Sasuke figured no reason to knock. Not like he was going to if the door had been completely closed anyway. There was no way in hell he was showing any sort of courtesy to the murderer of his parents. Brother or not.

Uchiha Itachi looked up from a stack of papers. When he came across his younger brother's scowling face, he couldn't help but lean back lazily in his spacious leather chair.

"This is a surprise, little brother. Why the sudden visit?"

Sasuke could only deepen his frown. "Who'd in their right mind would visit you?" His remark was childish, but he somehow couldn't help it. The age difference did that to him.

"Now that wasn't nice at all," the elder Uchiha replied, using an equally childish tone in imitation.

Sasuke could feel the hatred in every single cell of his body. Usually he was one of the most rational thinkers around. But now it took every ounce of will power to refrain from loosing control of his actions. "Cut the crap," he said lowly, "I only came to get an answer. That's it."

"Oh? And what might that question be?" Itachi asked, resting his head upon his folded hands.

"I want to know why…" the younger sibling stated quietly. The next part however, rose many levels in volume. "Why did you kill Mom and Father?!"

The other Uchiha sighed. "You're still on about that? I told you that you have no proof of that."

"You're lying through your teeth, bastard!" Sasuke raged. He'd run out of that will power of his to keep his emotions in check. So, naturally, without his normally clear head, he'd drew his gun and placed it inches in front of his brother's head. "Now tell me the truth."

Despite the fact that a semi-automatic was positioned right in front of his face, Itachi's façade remained impassive and as unfazed as normal. And just as if it was an every day occurrence, he opened one of the desk drawers.

Sasuke knew his brother all too well. Scare tactics never worked. And though he tried to conceal it, he couldn't help but feel his hand shake in response to his brother's calm demeanor. His breathing was irregular, and he could hear his heartbeat pulse loudly in his ears. Though, when Itachi stood up, the other had no problem following his trail with the weapon.

Though, when the elder Uchiha brother revealed that he also had a firearm of his own, it caused Sasuke's blood to drain from his face. "You're always so quick to judge people, little brother." He'd began to twirl his gun around calmly, in the way a cowboy in the old western shows would.

The younger sibling just continued to stare at the twirling weapon. He remembered this well. Years ago when his brother was still on good terms (and still a part of the Sharingan corporation), his brother used to show off this trick all the time. Blindfolded, he'd twirl his gun around for a moment, then in the blink of an eye shoot the target. A perfect bull's-eye every time. Had Sasuke made the slightest movement to pull the trigger on his brother, the latter would have killed him before he could. And that would be a death in vain.

Before Sasuke knew it, his gun had been removed from his hands, without much effort. He could feel himself sink back into that inner place. His subconscious had taken over again. He felt (and must have looked) like a lifeless doll.

"Little brother. It's my turn to ask you a question. Where is that paper? The one that that woman gave you."

The description had been vague, but apparently Sasuke's inner self must have understood, since he could feel his arm automatically reach into his pocket and pulled out the slip of paper that his mother had given him moments before passing.

"Thank you, foolish little brother," Itachi said in a perfect business tone. He took both weapons and his newly acquired sheet of paper with him out of the office. Behind him, the younger sibling could only sink to the floor, completely drained of energy.

It was at that moment when the fifth floor elevator doors opened once more. It was Sakura's turn to step forth. She was rather surprised to see the new president of Sharingan walking out of his office. Out of courtesy (and of course in slight fear) she moved to the wall, standing there until he passed her by.

At first, it looked like he was going to, but he stopped. He'd remembered her from the previous night. Of course it was just the face. He didn't know her name, nor her relationship with his younger brother. But he wasn't concerned with any of those formalities.

"Where did you get that ring?" Itachi asked, deadpanned expression as usual.

Sakura saw no reason to hide anything. Besides, he could probably tell if someone was lying. He came across as that kind of person. "It was a gift from Mom—ah, that is, Lady Uchiha."

After a moment of silence and cold stares to boot, the former replied with the trademark Uchiha response. "Aa." No more words were exchanged between the two, as the President went on his way.

The pink haired teen glanced worriedly at the closing elevator doors. Didn't that man seem overly calm despite the turmoil the company was around him? But then, she figured she'd best worry about the reason she'd come in the first place.

Sakura walked into the President's office. Truthfully she hadn't wanted to visit quite so soon (since the previous night's scenario was playing over and over) but she'd found who she was originally looking for. She found it slightly odd that he was currently slumped on the floor.

"Uh, Sasuke, you okay?" she asked, genuine concern in her voice.

She received no answer. After repeating the question, she still got no reply. It was rather irritating. She understood that he was under a lot of emotional strain, but it was no reason to ignore her completely. "Sasuke! Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

Then she began to gently shake him by the shoulder, saying things like 'snap out of it'. At least she was hoping to annoy him the slightest to get him talking. However there was no suck luck. It really must have been more traumatizing then he'd let on at first. The younger Uchiha was always annoyed at something. It was rather frightening to see him in such a state.

Seeing no other option, Sakura resorted to her force. She shouted out an angry: "Sasuke!" and slapped him clean across the face.

It seemed to have snapped him out of whatever trance he'd been in. "What the hell was that?" the raven haired teen asked, slightly enraged. He stood up, all while rubbing his throbbing cheek.

"Oh, don't you start, Mister. You can't go from spacey to angry in the span of three seconds. I don't know what happened between you and your brother, but he's obviously been affecting you. And you just have to let it go. That, or depend on other people there to give you support. That's what friends are for, Sasuke."

He opened and closed his mouth once, sorting out his words. "You wouldn't understand."

It was the female's turn to become angry. She grabbed the front of his navy colored shirt. "No, you're right, I wouldn't. But that's because you won't let anyone understand! Be just a little more trusting. I don't like having to find these things out for myself."

"What are you talking about?" the Uchiha replied. Both were aware that every line was spoken at a slightly higher volume. But at the moment they didn't care.

"Don't give me that. First it was your brother, now the motive. It could have made better sense at the beginning if you'd said something about the fortune! But, God, you just have to be stubborn about it!"

"What fortune? Like I said, what are you talking about, woman?"

It was then Sakura paused in their heated argument. She slowly let go of her partner's shirt. "Wait. You don't know what I'm talking about?"

Sasuke could only let out a frustrated sigh. "That's what I said, didn't I?"

This left the girl to sort out things in her head. The big picture was starting to become clearer, but it was still missing a few details. She hoped her partner could fill her in on the loose ends, but… "Come," she instructed, "There's something I need to show you."

* * *

Sasuke took the chair from his partner's desk to take a seat. Sakura was currently rummaging through a large stack of folders on the night table beside her bed. What reason she had for keeping so many folders was unknown. He didn't quite see what was kept in those. That's what computers were for. 

Seemingly, Sakura found what she'd been looking for. With a serious expression, she set the paper down in front of the younger Uchiha. "Read," she instructed simply.

With an unreadable (yet Sakura could tell he was inwardly questioning her reasons) expression, he took the typed page, and began to study it. It wasn't long before his brow began to crease. His frown seemingly got deeper the longer he read.

After a deafening silence, Sasuke set the page down, and inhaled deeply before speaking. "What was that?"

Sakura, who was already annoyed with her partner at the moment, could only reply in an irritable manner. "What does it look like?"

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Why would I joke about something as serious as this? And this isn't exactly the time to be joking around anyway." The female took out the screwdriver (which was always in her pocket somewhere) and walked over to the air vent.

While she was doing so, the Uchiha continued his questioning. "How did you get something like this?"

Sakura took out the silver box and brought it down to the table around which both personas were currently sitting. Wordlessly, she nudged it in her partner's general direction; an evident sign for him to open it.

While he rummaged through the documents inside, Sakura decided to talk about her little adventure that took place earlier that day. "That was in a hidden room where the President's office is. It wasn't the only thing there. If a banker said that room was worth at least a couple billion dollars, I wouldn't be surprised. Also, the company probably doesn't interest Uchiha Itachi at all. I bet it's just your fortune."

Sasuke, who was silently and slowly taking this all in, pulled out his father's ring. He took a long hard stare at it. Almost frowning. Only God knew what he was thinking, but rather than placing it upon his finger, he slipped it into his front jean pocket.

"I don't know what happened between you and your brother," Sakura said in a business-like tone, "And if you don't want to tell me that's fine too. But I know that sitting around like this is making Mom and President Uchiha's deaths in vain."

The onyx eyed teen continued to stare down at the bright silver box. He couldn't keep down the murderous stare that had inched its way up onto his usually placid façade. The thoughts kept on jumbling up in his head. The only thing that had brought him out from that world, was the feeling of a weight being placed around his neck.

Sakura hadn't let go of the octagonal key she'd returned to her partner. "Can I take you on a little adventure, Sasuke?"

* * *

Things were bad. Quite bad indeed. So bad Naruto was pacing. Yes, pacing. He'd been going in circles around the common room. Hyuuga Neji had been there earlier, minding his own business over a mug of coffee. But the blond was making him dizzy (but it was more annoyance than dizziness) so he'd got up in a huff and left. 

Not that Naruto noticed. He was too absorbed in the current and gravely escalating situation. With a quick glance to his watch, he noted that he'd been walking in circles for exactly seventeen minutes and thirty-two seconds.

With a tired sigh, he finally abandoned the useless walking, and opted for sprawling across the large couch. Why him? Out of all two hundred and one employees at Sharingan why him? What to do, what to do?

Like a ton of bricks, the thought hit him. (He wished he'd thought of a better metaphor, since being hit with a ton of bricks literally wouldn't be so fun.) Pulling out the wonderful invention, known to most of mankind as a cellular phone, he contacted his best friend's number.

After a few rings, a connection was established on the other end. "What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke's voice sounded.

"Sasuke! Oh, it's bad, really bad. You wouldn't believe how bad it is," Naruto replied, in a highly exaggerated tone, yet he hadn't meant to hyperbolize at all. It was just his voice. If someone or something was to blame, it was genetics.

There was a sigh on the other end. "This better be good. I'm a little busy at the moment."

To ruin the tense atmosphere ever-so-slightly, the blond couldn't help but add a sly remark. "What's this? To busy to hear the crisis of your best friend? Don't tell me, I interrupted a moment between you and Sakura." A silence was all that replied to the comment. "Oh, I was right, wasn't I? Silly me, ruining the romantic moment."

"No, I was just stunned at the stupidity of your words," the other replied in a deadpanned voice. "Now what was that terrible thing you had to call me so urgently about? And it better be good or else I'm hanging up."

"Ah, right, right. Anyway, like I was saying: it's really bad, Sasuke. The Pres was down here earlier and boy, was he ever fuming. It's like when you're running on a short fuse, but this time it was Ita-style!"

The mention of the elder Uchiha brother made the younger become silent anew. Naruto could hear some whispering and shuffling in the background. A slight wait later, Sasuke continued with a curt: "And?"

"And nothing much. I think it's an Uchiha thing to vent out anger on me, though. But he wanted to see you. Actually, I think it was more like order you to grace him with your presence. Either way, I don't think it'll be pretty next time you meet."

"Can I just pretend you didn't say that?"

"Well believe what you want. I'm just relaying the message."

"Yeah, with useless added details in the middle."

Naruto coughed once. Okay, fine. So he exaggerated a bit. Just a bit. But Itachi really had hunted (okay, so it was more like found) him, and rudely demanded where his younger brother was. The blond had truthfully replied he had no idea, but would tell him to visit the president when he saw him next.

"Anyway, Sasuke, you're awfully talkative today. Something wrong?" Naruto asked (other than the fact both his parents died in the past week, and his evil brother stole the right to his Presidency).

There was more shuffling on the other end of the line, and this time the voice that spoke was female. "He's just tired is all, Naruto. A little too much information to take in at once I think."

"Ah! So, you were with him, Sakura! What are you up to?"

"Oh, just showing off the fortune Sasuke is going to inherit. He's rather upset that I knew about his heirlooms before he did. But I have to say, even the second time around, this place is absolutely spectacular."

The blond didn't bother to question this, knowing that she'd probably never tell him at the moment anyway. "Ah, I see. But what are we going to do? I wouldn't like to leave things here like this."

"I know, I know, Naruto," Sakura replied, rubbing her temples in strenuous thought. She was drawing blanks on ides. As it currently stood, Itachi had probably known about the fortune, which meant he'd have known it was hidden somewhere. But her guess was he didn't quite know where, and that was where the paper Uchiha Mikoto left the safe number and location. So the reason of the current President's bad mood? The safe was empty; courtesy of her, of course.

But she couldn't see why that was something to make a fuss over. He'd probably find the fortune room eventually. He had lots of time, as far as she could tell. So what was he so worried about?

Then it clicked. "I got it!"

And then simultaneously, both Sasuke and Naruto (still over the phone) replied with: "Got what?"

"Naruto, listen very carefully. I want you to go get Hinata. Tell her to bring her computer and wait for me in my room. Oh, and bring a screwdriver."

The blond wondered why that required listening carefully. Maybe it was some kind of hidden message. If it was, he sure as hell wasn't going to take the time to figure it out. Women…

"A screwdriver?" he echoed, just in case.

"Yes, a screwdriver. Now vamoose. I'll be in touch with you later." Before he could muster another word, she cut the connection. She turned to her partner, who was now busy opening a box of uncut sapphires. "Let's go, Sasuke."

Setting the box back down, he looked over his shoulder. "Going where?"

"To regain your rightful spot as President and get some justice."

* * *

Hinata had been sitting in her friend's room for about ten awkward minutes before a tapping from the air vent caught her attention. As soon as Naruto had mentioned the screwdriver, she had a pretty good idea of where Sakura would be entering. 

"Phew, thanks, Hinata," the pink haired teen said, sliding out of the vent.

"U-um, Naruto mentioned that he was with you…" the female Hyuuga muttered, looking for any nonexistent sign of the younger Uchiha.

"Yeah, he didn't think he'd fit through the duct. So he's still down behind the building. I should go meet him soon. But the reason I called you…" Sakura trailed off, pulling out a folded slip of paper from one of the many pockets of her cargo pants.

"This is?"

"It's a copy of the Uchihas' will. Would you please scan it and send it as an attachment to every member of Sharingan? Also in the email, mention a brief company-wide meeting that will take place in an hour. You can take care of that right, Hinata?"

The other female nodded.

The pink haired girl climbed back into the vent. "Thanks a bunch. You're totally the best. Oh, I almost forgot. Please don't send the attachment to President Uchiha." And with that, she was off.

Hinata could only stare at the now empty air duct. One day, she mentally drawled, she was going to go insane. Didn't anyone use a door anymore? Somehow the whole mysterious passages, family secrets and whatever else had happened the past few months seemed all a little farfetched. She didn't remember the last time she slept for seven straight hours. She assumed she was certainly going to need that soon.

In any case, she got started on that email.

* * *

The meeting hall was located on the second floor on the office side. And exactly one hour after Hinata had sent out the company-wide message, sure enough, most people had already assembled in the hall. Of course, she assumed it was because no one had really gone fulltime back to work. But whatever the reason, at least they'd gathered. 

Of the people she knew personally, most were already somewhere in the large room. Tenten was leaning against the wall next to the emergency stairway doors. Her cousin was on another end of the room, listening to Lee. Some of the other usual gang were around in small clumps. The superiors were all present (surprisingly) as well, all gathered around the vice-president Tsunade.

But there was still no sign of the initiator of this gathering. Actually, there were three of the regulars missing. However she wasn't worried about them not showing. Because they would.

Hinata moved a lock of dark hair behind her ear. Her eyes immediately shifted to the ground when the current Uchiha president entered the room. But glancing somewhat sideways, she could see some of the employees were making the effort to whisper that much quieter. Not that she blamed them. Itachi looked positively infuriated, reasons unknown to her. But it probably wasn't hard to figure out.

All she knew for sure was that Sakura and Sasuke were playing very recklessly with fire.

Speaking of the devils, the missing trio had finally decided on making their appearances. Sakura and Naruto had entered first, the younger Uchiha not far behind.

A wave of deafening silence spread throughout the large room. Even the execs stopped their chatting to watch the scene unfold.

"Little brother," the President curtly greeted. His face had gone back to a mask of indifference.

But the others knew better. "Brother," Sasuke rivaled Itachi's brusque acknowledgement. The two were locked in a fierce glaring contest, and neither looked ready to give in any time soon. Sasuke decided, however, to speak in a very low voice. "Upset you can't do anything with everyone around?"

One in the immediate area could have sworn the elder of the brother's face faltered ever-so-slightly. Instinctively, this caused the duo accompanying Sasuke to step in closer, just in case. However, the next instant, the President's face was back to normal.

"What are you talking about, little brother?" was his reply, not bothering to keep his voice quiet.

Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking about the right choice of words. A small smirk couldn't help but creep up to his pale face. "Nothing, forget it. I just wanted to know if you had any last words."

The older brother said nothing in response to his younger sibling's new cocky attitude. With a quick dart of his eyes, he surveyed the room, then stared hard into the eyes of his brother.

"No objections if I kill him, right?" he asked to no one in particular. However, no one replied. He took this as his unanimous answer.

"Kill the President, dear brother? In front of all these people? I'm afraid you've snapped."

"No," Sasuke replied, narrowing his eyes, "You're no longer the president of this company. You're nothing than a cold blooded murderer."

The atmosphere in the room turned even more tense, if that was possible. "If this was what this 'emergency meeting' was about, it was a total waste of time," Itachi commented.

"Wait," Sakura spoke up, stepping in front of her two male partners. She unfolded a sheet of paper from her pocket. "He's right. In the Uchiha's will, it states that Sasuke is the rightful heir to the company as well as its fortunes."

This time, no one could deny the look of (slight) shock present on Uchiha Itachi's face. He snatched the photocopied deed from the pink haired teen. After skimming through the many lines of legal mumbo-jumbo, his onyx orbs scanned the room again. It seemed everyone was aware of this fact. Anger began to cloud his thoughts.

"You…" he started darkly, talking to Sakura. She took a step back upon hearing his tone, but remained with a strong and impassive look on her face. She also shrugged off Naruto's reassuring hand. She'd be strong on her own this time around. "You're a smart one. It was all you, wasn't it?"

She shook her head in disagreement. "Nope. See everyone standing around me? They've all been a part of it. Everyone. There's no 'I' in team."

"Modest too. Are you God's child, or something, woman?" the elder Uchiha asked. He only got three cold glares (from the three comrades) as an answer.

Itachi looked like he was going to say something else, but a sudden gunshot had cut him off.

This was followed by a series of others, which sent the entire room falling to the floor and covering their heads. Sakura heard the light about her shatter, and soon felt a shower of glass shards over her. The noise in the room was deafening. There were so many screams, she couldn't tell if they were all dying on the ground or just downright scared. She desperately hoped it was the latter.

Quite daringly, she lifted her head and looked back in the direction of the shots. Leaning against the doorframe was the former vice president, Hoshigaki Kisame. She'd forgotten he was still alive. He was bleeding from his side, where he'd been shot days earlier. The wound, she assumed had opened up on his way down.

With a frown of intense pain, he raised his firearm once more. But Neji (who'd quickly risen off the ground) beat him to it, taking him down in one clean shot.

And the thought almost slipped her mind: Itachi. Sakura heard Tenten's voice over on the other end of the hall, which sounded much like a short shriek of pain. All she saw was her friend's form hitting the wall with great force, then falling unconsciously in a heap to the ground. That, and the back of the elder Uchiha's Akatsuki cape.

"Shit!" Naruto cried, shaking the shards from his blond hair. He got up in a hurry and dashed after the fleeing Itachi. Kiba was right behind him in the chase.

It was basically at that moment when more chaos was unleashed around the meeting hall. People were running in all directions, and the yelling never did die down one bit.

Somehow, though, in all the commotion, Sakura remembered something…or rather, someone important. How could she have been so bloody (used figuratively and literally, since the shards of glass from the light had cut at her cheeks and arms) ignorant.

"Sasuke?" she looked around the room and saw no sign of him. Then again, she hadn't remembered him getting up at all. Color drained from her face as she gazed at her feet. "Oh my God. Oh shit." The small line of profanities continued as she fell beside her partner.

"You!" she commanded a random employee, who stopped when she heard Sakura's cusses. "Get a medic! Hurry!"

She turned her attention back to Sasuke. So the gunshots weren't only just a diversion set up to help Itachi escape. There was a target too. The evidence of that was Uchiha Sasuke, who was lying chest-down on the cold floor, with two bullets in the left shoulder blade. Not to mention bleeding heavily.

"Sasuke?" she questioned loudly. The sharp noised made him open his eyes, revealing those onyx orbs. She breathed a quick sigh of relief, while trying to use the material of his navy colored shirt to press on his deep wounds. "Sasuke, listen to me, you have to hang in there. Don't you dare give up on me."

The noise level in the room was still at the same thundering level, but for Sakura, everyone slowly seemed to fade away. It was just the two of them, in a large void.

He coughed once, spitting dark crimson liquid on the floor. His eyes started to flutter.

"No, Sasuke," she commanded sternly, but her voice was beginning to quiver. And no matter how much she willed, or called his name, he seemed to drift. "No, Sasuke. You can't give up. You've come so far and endured so much. You can't leave things like this. You can't leave me! Please!" She was begging. Begging and crying now. Flat out. And she didn't care. She didn't care because…

And the Uchiha closed his eyes, but time, they didn't open.

All Sakura could to was call his name helplessly one last time, the loudest she'd ever screamed in her life.

* * *

**AN: **Um, yeah. The end? 

-waits-

-Hinata-hime is shot- Of course I'm kidding. Jeez. I may be slightly evil, but not THAT evil. Or am I? We shall have to see with the decisive last chapter! And obviously I'm not saying anything about it. Because it can obviously go two ways now can't it?

Okay. I have nothing more left to say. I'm just going to go back to my three major projects and cry while attempting to do them. But you know what shall make the experience that much more bearable? See that nice little purple button in the bottom left corner that's just TELLING you to press it? Those make me very happy! So until the conclusion! Stay tuned!


	14. In the Beginning

**Starting AN**: Yes, I do in fact realize that this chapter is late. But school sucks. You all know that. Anyway, if there is a craptastic of all craptastic endings in the world, this definitely ranks way up there. I cannot end things for beans. Well. More at the end. Enjoy the last chapter!

**Chapter 14**  
**In the Beginning**

_Everybody has something they can complain about. Some more than others. If no one complained, it wouldn't be normal. Even I complain. Actually, I complain about things a lot. Which some people find strange. Because I live one hell of a relaxed life._

_Well, in the beginning anyway. I grew up in a normal household: I had a mom and a dad, though the latter usually spent his time anywhere else in the world but at home. I went to a normal school. I had normal friends. Well, that statement is kind of iffy. Friends are never quite 'normal', since every person is weird in their own way. _

_Anyway. I've lived in the same house all my life. I've only changed schools twice, and that was for transferring from elementary to middle, and middle to high school. So you could say I was used to routine. Wake up, go to school, come home, work, go to bed. It was always kind of like that. _

_Family outings were…on the rare side. Mom was a nurse at the local Alzheimer's hospital. Dad, well, I'm still not sure what he does. Most nights when I was young he never came home at nights, telling Mom he was in some odd town in the world. And when he was home, he was less than sociable. But family is family, so you can never quite hate them, even if you say you do._

_But family aside, school was pretty good. Well, I was teased, since my head was a little unproportional to the rest of my body. I guess Yamanaka Ino was the only one who didn't think so. She was really pretty as a kid. I'm not saying she isn't now, but…oh whatever. _

_The two of us were close through all three schools. Of course, there were the normal banters we'd have; usually the quarrels were guy-related. It was all stupidity really. We always ended up running after the same boy._

_Usually Ino ended up winning. Guys seemed to have a thing for platinum blond hair, rather than unnatural pink. Well, the one exception was Nara Shikamaru (Ino's next door neighbor but we didn't really meet until middle school). He found it interesting. And, if you knew Shikamaru, for him to find something interesting meant that it must have been special. _

_Point being we were an item (in total obscurity from the light, known as the student body) for a few months. Things kind of…fell apart. The two of us made an agreement to take the secret to the grave, since it wasn't long after that I found out Ino had a super crush on the guy. Probably still does to this day. I really think she's die-hard-head-over-heels in love with him. But that's another story._

_Keeping on track with earlier things, I guess all through those years I complained. "I never have a boyfriend!" or "My family never takes me anywhere!" I'm sure most of my friends didn't really care for my nonexistent troubles. Because at the end of the day, I was lucky. I had a family. I had friends. And putting aside the silly troubles of an early aged teenager, I was happy._

_There was a phase I was in during my sophomore year. Perhaps it was the number of crime dramas increased on television. Whatever the case, I was suddenly fascinated by everything I didn't know. I'm not saying stupid things like: what came first, the chicken or the egg? but rather why hasn't this person been themselves lately._

_Yes, I'm slightly eccentric. But it was something for me to do, since I was part of the 'go home after school club'. I wasn't that great at sports, and certainly not anything artistic. I was smart. That's it. So even if it was only Shikamaru and I (after I begged him for two solid days, so he reluctantly agreed) it was fun._

_The two of us had no real personal gain. Sure it was cool to know everything. And when the select few came in search of information, it was nice to get something useful out of things. Kind of like the time the son of the chief policeman came for help, and in return, we got access to criminal files. It probably wasn't too legally right for him to do that, but we were doing no harm. And he was desperate._

_So our successful club ran for two years. It probably could have gone the third year as well, if my relaxed life hadn't been torn to shreds right in front of me. I remember that night clearer than most things. A small twinge of curiosity dealt me a hand of total crap. And before I knew it, I was taken from my life, and placed in a world of scheme, missions, weapons, and death._

_Yes. I complained again. This time I had the right. No one wants to give up their student carefree life to one that puts the weight of the world on your shoulders. By weight of the world, I mean the lives of the Presidents of Sharingan. Close enough._

_He brought me here. Hah, I remember. I was quite upset. So upset I actually cried. But a two-hour train ride, a couple new faces and a new room later, I was sitting in a place I learned to call home. Not that I did at first._

_I mean really; I found it awfully strange. I was first doing tasks like spying and eavesdropping on a potential criminal. Next, I was posed at the most prestigious high school I know, and later knocked someone out with chloroform and nearly strangled to death. Another time I posed as a martial arts instructor, and almost got killed again by jumping off a bridge. Not to mention I've almost gotten shot about…well, maybe three or four times. _

_All of the above I had not been expecting to do through my entire life. I imagined how cool it must be. But now that I've lived it, I can say to anyone it really isn't all that great. Even snooping around, finding fortunes and cracking the case… It wasn't all that glorious. It came with a price._

_Everything comes with a price. First it was the President. Next it was the Lady. Next…well, a bunch of people were killed by the Akatsuki. I never quite figured the whole organization thing out. But from what I gathered after _that _day, I think I'm a little closer to the answer. Perhaps professional assassins for hire?_

_A bunch of things happened since that days of (the no longer President) Itachi. It's been about three weeks now._

_Needless to say, right after the incident I was beyond distraught. I'd apparently gone into another one of my panic-when-I-see-blood modes a little while after he'd been taken away. It must have been bad, since I don't remember it. Which is odd because I usually do. Hinata said it was a good two days before I was calm again. They even had to drug me the first night._

_Anyway, that's history now. _

_For the next little while, all of the company was in chaos. There were no presidents, no orders—just plain anarchy. So while the superiors tried to get things organized, the lot of us living on the ninth floor pretty much stuck to the ninth floor. A few people went back into town for a day or two, just to get rid of the stench of death that plagued the company. I didn't. I couldn't leave. My heart couldn't leave. _

_So instead, I opted for calling some people. I checked in at home (assuring everything was fine, when it was really quite the opposite). I also gave the Subaku siblings the heads up about what had happened. I let them know that Kisame was now one hundred percent dead, but Itachi was still on the lamb. Plus a probable number of other Akatsuki members. But that's another case._

_Next I also checked in with Ino and Shikamaru. The former was happy to hear from me, and insisted on where I was. No where illegal, I assured, though I never gave a straight answer. I was always good at dodging questions with her. Shikamaru, on the other hand, I gave a little more of the low down. However, he said something along the lines of 'troublesome' and told me not to give him useless information, since it only made him do unnecessary thinking. But then I assured them both that I'd be coming home in the near future. _

_So, a few more things have happened as well. Amongst some of the stranger things was finally meeting the vice-president, Tsunade, officially for the first time. She had a loud and booming voice, the kind that gave off a real regal air. Vice president for a reason, that's for sure. She'd been awfully nice to me. I don't quite know why. The nice-ness was namely getting me a spot in the local university for next semester's biochemistry program. "You're smart," she'd said, "And I think that's what Lady Uchiha would have wanted."_

_Another odd thing was a few days ago. I was sitting in the common room, drinking a cup of tea, when Hyuuga Neji took a seat opposite me. We started up a light conversation (something I never quite knew the guy had in him). I don't know how we got onto the subject, but he'd commented about my ring. "That's the ring Mom used to wear, isn't it?" And then later on said: "Usually those rings, so I've heard, are passed down from President to President, and wife to the new president's wife. So, technically, you should be running this company."_

_If what he said was true, I had totally not known that. It was a big shock. I mean, I wasn't ready to be the head of a large-scale and top-secret company. Besides, I'd only been here for about five months. "She must have seen something in you," Neji had also added._

_And whether or not this statement was true, I was certain I'd never find out. No one can talk to the dead, after all. However much we'd all like that._

_There I go. Complaining again. It's only natural, though. Whether I have the right to, or whether I'm just being annoying, anyone can decide. All I know is that for me, I've learned a lot from being a part of this team. _

_Not everything is useful, let me say. I've learned how to act, how to dance, and how to defend myself. I've learned how to spy, how to fire a gun, and how to unlock secret passages. But, most importantly, I have to say, I've learned how to work as a part of this team. The team that tried so hard to saving Mom and President Uchiha. The team where I spent the past five months of my time. The team that I wouldn't replace for anything in the world. For it's the team I've grown to love._

_And that's one thing, I know for sure, I'll never complain about._

* * *

The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor of the offices. Sakura passed through the usual maze of cubicles. As she passed, many people stopped to greet her, or at least nod their heads in acknowledgement. She replied with an equally brief greeting. 

Quite deep into the middle of the offices, she found the room she was looking for. She knocked lightly on the door.

"Come," a strong feminine voice replied from inside.

Sakura pushed open the door, greeting the two people that were inside. "Good afternoon, Tsunade. Kakashi, how unusual to see you here."

Her silver haired superior just gave a small smile. "I'm just going over something with the President here. She's told me about your decision. Quite sudden. Are you sure?"

The pink haired teen smiled back. "Yes. I've thought about it for awhile. I think that's best anyway."

Kakashi said something incoherent to Tsunade, before brushing past Sakura. But he stopped to ruffle her hair slightly. "I wish you the best of luck then." And with that, he took his leave.

"So," the platinum blond haired woman spoke after a moment of silence, "I assume the preparations are complete and to your standards?"

"Oh yes, very much so. I can't thank you enough, Tsunade." Sakura couldn't help but bow her head in gratitude.

"Don't be. I'm just giving you what you deserve. You've done plenty for this company, so it's the least anyone can do to repay you."

Sakura couldn't help but have her smile fade from her face. Quietly, she said: "Well, I'm glad some people think so."

There was another pregnant pause, before Tsunade gave a long sigh. "It's a shame you aren't staying here, though. The company could really use you."

The pink haired teen immediately brightened up again. "Well, I don't see how I can be of much help. I think everyone here is much more capable than I am when it'll come to brining this company into the light. Well, at least sort of into the light. At least the government will know."

"Yes…" the new president replied, folding her hands on the oak desk. Her face, which was usually set in a hard sort of stare softened slightly. "But you will come and visit often, I presume."

"Oh, of course!" Sakura exclaimed. "I mean, the university in town isn't that far. Just the train ride, remember? I could never truly leave this place. I've grown too attached to it. I can't believe I'm saying that, though."

The two chuckled quietly. Sakura continued. "I think it's about time I leave now, Tsunade. Thank you for everything."

The blonde shook her head. "Please don't mention it, as I said. Best of luck to you, Sakura. But I don't think you'll need it."

* * *

Not long after, she had a suitcase ready in the common room of the ninth floor. A small group of her relatively new friends were gathered around. 

"It still is rather sudden," Kiba commented.

"I'm happy for the girl. She's making her own decision and I think she'd make a great doctor one day," Tenten argued. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "But hey, it'll be just that much lonelier without you, girl."

Sakura had to keep chewing her bottom lip to keep from crying. She was a little too emotional at partings. "You guys are the best. I'll visit soon. Promise."

Quickly she gave everyone a hug. Even Hyuuga Neji, who looked liked he didn't really want to. When she came to Hinata, the quiet girl broke town into a silent fit of tears, which at that point Kiba, Tenten, and her cousin attempted to console her. Lee also broke down into a not-so-quiet fit of sobs, but since the three were trying to succor the female Hyuuga, he received no comfort. Since… the silent Shino wasn't one to do that type of thing.

Sakura couldn't really stand it any more, so she decided that now would be the golden time to leave. As the elevator dinged and opened its doors, she turned around and whispered one final goodbye.

Upon arriving at the main floor, she found one other person waiting for her at the front doors. Figures he wouldn't be up there with the rest. "Hey…" she greeted.

The man standing at the door also began to look like he was on the verge of tears. "S-Sakura…"

"Oh… don't you start crying too, Naruto!" she said with a slight laugh in her tone. The blond gave her a long hug. After awhile it began to hurt. But she said nothing. Then… it became hard to breathe. "Naru…to. Loosing… air."

The blond immediately let go. "Ah, I'm sorry. It's just… well I can't believe you're actually leaving!"

"It's just university, Naruto. I'm not disappearing for good. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Naruto bent down and picked up the suitcase that he'd caused his friend to drop. He extended it to her, a small smile on his face. "I know. And I'm happy for you. The rest of us just decide to stick around here. We're all like family I guess. But you… well, I'm glad you know what you want to do with your life."

Now, Naruto was not usually one for sermons like that. She couldn't help but be slightly taken aback. "Naruto…"

Then the blond continued. "And of course when you become a big shot doctor, we won't have to pay you anything. Because that's what friends do. So my healthcare future is pretty much secured."

Always about some kind of self gain… "Well, let me try getting into med. school first. What do you say?"

He grinned in return. "I say go for it!"

And with that, the two parted ways.

The afternoon sun shone brightly. It was odd. It'd been awfully gray for the past few weeks. Maybe this was a turn for the better. With that little thought in mind, she hurried faster to the underground train platform.

She reached there a couple minutes later. "Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm here now!" she called out. Her voice echoed throughout the underground area. She stepped inside the single car, and immediately after doing so, the doors closed.

She placed her suitcase on one of the many rows of seats. While she was sad about leaving everyone at Sharingan, she couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of university. It was her dream after all. Her mother was a nurse, and her sole ambition growing up was to surpass her. She'd become a doctor, she vowed.

"You're in an awfully cheerful mood," a new voice spoke up in a dull tone.

She smiled again. "Yes and no. But while I'm in the kind of good mood, please don't ruin it."

There was a sharp exhale. "Childish."

"Yes, I know it all too well," she told her escort.

A moment of silence lingered, but Sakura easily countered it. "So, you never did tell me. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

And like a whip, the person didn't hesitate to answer back. "Like I have to tell you anything."

"Wow. Touchy. But you never actually said if you were alright in leaving everything in her hands."

"It's nothing that woman can't handle," her escort explained. "But all anyone's ever done is just follow in their predecessors' footsteps. I'm going to break that chain. And when the time is right, I'll take my place. Just like you'll take yours."

There was a short moment of silence, as the girl thought of what to say next. "Did you just propose to me?"

"Did I ask you to marry me?"

"No, but—"

"Then there's you answer."

It was the girl's turn to sigh. "It's only been, what? A few days since you've actually been up and about? And already you're fast with your mouth. We're going to have to work on that you know."

The comment made the man sitting opposite her smirk. "I can be fast with other things too."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Now what in the world are you talking abo—" She was unable to finish her sentence as both arms were now pinned to one of the large train windows. After the three second initial shock, she laughed, and pushed him off without much effort. "I got it, I got it."

After that, he sat back in his original spot. "There's time to work on that too, Sakura."

She smiled once again. This time, she walked over and took a seat next to her escort. "Is there? I mean, with my biochemistry studies and your business ones, how are we ever going to find the time to?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'd put my money on you. You're stubborn."

"Like you're one to talk," she shot back.

A mock glaring contest broke out, but didn't last longer than a good twenty seconds. The man turned his head and gazed out the window at the passing scenery. "And even if there is no time, there are still years and years ahead. I don't know about you, but I plan to stick around in this world a little longer."

Sakura couldn't help but notice the new glint in Uchiha Sasuke's dark eyes. Perhaps after almost biting the dust, he was ready to start living life? She could only hope.

"Me too, Sasuke. Me too. After all, we seem to somewhat succeed in the long run, right?"

* * *

**END

* * *

**

**AN: **Yay! Another story complete! I can't believe it actually. I never really believe it when I finish chaptered stories. I'm all: "Hm. Over already? That was fast…" But whatever. Gives me time to work on my other SasuSaku story in the works, as well as my first chaptered Bleach fiction.

So, didn't I tell you that was a crappy ending? I mean honestly. At least I kept Sasuke-kun alive though. Because rabid fan-reviews are scawy when they threaten me. -cowers in fear- Meh… Actually the story isn't really supposed to end here. I actually have started planning a sequel. That is, if you guys want one. So drop me a review telling me, kay? -hint hint- So, until possible future, this is Hianta-hime saying: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Until a new story!


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